


Again

by Drich (drich147)



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AKA: What happens when you get put in bad situations against your will for a long period of time, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:07:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 120,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26337703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drich147/pseuds/Drich
Summary: Link wakes up. Journeys across the world. Defeats Calamity.Link wakes up.Again. And Again. And Again.
Comments: 724
Kudos: 943
Collections: RaeLynn's Epic Rec List





	1. Chapter 1

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

These are the words that begin a lengthy tale. 

It is a tale of a Hero, awoken, without memory or identity, in a strange, ancient cave, with naught but a voice to guide him.

It is a tale of triumph. It is a tale of melancholy. It is a tale with an unfortunate beginning, but also a happy ending.

It goes something like this:

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”, says the voice, and so the Hero does. He knows, in these early moments, very little, and it is only thanks to the voice that he regains his name so quickly.

He wakes, lying in a strange bed, blue liquid draining away from his body. He feels... not _weak_ , but certainly _drained_. The room is sealed, and appears to be fashioned entirely from black and brown stone. There is light, and it comes from the stone, pulsing with shining blue.

He stands, and he sees not too far away a pedestal. It glows with blue light, and Link moves over to it. As he approaches, the pedestal shifts, and offers up to him a strange, rectangular device, also glowing with blue light. Lines of orange light pulse their way across it.

“ _That is a Sheikah Slate. Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber._ ” The voice directs, and Link does so shortly. He cannot remember ever having seen it before, but it takes only a moment before he’s able to activate it.

A series of columns shift, and rise into the ceiling. A passage, opened. 

Link moves. Two stone chests, and he finds a few tattered, threadbare clothes. Better than the undergarments he had been wearing, but not by much.

Another pedestal at the end of the next room, and the voice directs him to hold the Sheikah Slate up to it. He does so, of course, and the door opens. Sunlight shines into the room.

“ _Link..._ ” The voice says, slowly. “ _You are the light -our light- that must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now go..._ ”

And so he does.

Outside is a picturesque view, lush green land, mountains in the distance, snowy peaks and an angry volcano both. A castle is also present, but it stands in stark contrast to the beauty of the world around it. There is a strange, dark, pink swirl surrounding it, and just _looking_ at it brings a chill to everything that is good and right. 

**Evil.**

The word cements itself in his mind as he sees it. It’s a fact, one that he is as sure of as his own name.

He turns away. 

The ground slopes downwards and to the right, from the entrance to the cave he’d emerged from. Not too far down is a fire, and a large, old man with a lantern and a cloak. He’s unfamiliar, but he looks at Link with something a bit too intense to be curiosity.

The voice gives him more directions. The Sheikah Slate provides him a place to go to.

He goes.

There are creatures, monsters, on the way. They are cruel, malicious creatures, armed with wooden clubs, brittle swords, and bows and arrows. He has a few tree branches that he’s picked off of the ground, by then. They try to trouble him.

The ease with which he ends them ought to feel confusing, but somehow, only feels right. The tree branches break, so he takes their weapons, stronger and more durable, and fights his way through. The act of fighting is so intimately familiar he doesn’t even need to think about it.

He finds another pedestal, near-hidden under some large rocks. The Sheikah Slate activates it, and a tower rises under his feet. A splash of blue liquid, so similar to what he’d woken up in, and suddenly, the Slate has part of a map. Convenient and useful.

The old man appears after he descends the tower. The old man tells him a story: _Calamity Ganon_. A creature that had appeared, suddenly, and destroyed everything in its path. It is contained within the castle, but not for too much longer.

Link needs to go there, but the only way off the plateau is the Paraglider that the old man carries. The old man offers it to him, in exchange for treasure; specifically the treasure of a shrine that, now that the tower has risen, glows with orange light.

Link goes. The monsters on the way there are no challenge. It opens with the Sheikah Slate, and he descends into its depths.

A splash of blue liquid, and the Sheikah Slate can control metal objects. Magnesis. Useful. At the end of the shrine is a Monk, aged and decrepit. They do not move as they speak, with a voice that echoes within his mind rather than in the air, gifting him a treasure. A Spirit Orb, just what the old man was after. 

Link wonders, then, who the old man was, that he knows precisely what awaited Link within the Shrine. He asks, eventually, but the old man deflects and doesn’t answer.

The old man reveals more knowledge. The Slate can transport Link to the Shrine and Tower that he’s been to. He goes to the Tower, appearing at its peak.

The old man is waiting for him, somehow. Here before him, somehow. He deflects, yet again, on answering why.

The old man then directs him to other shrines. It isn’t the deal they made, but Link goes anyway. The closest shrine is guarded by old, damaged stone, but then that old, damaged stone comes to life in front of him, blue and orange and malevolent pink. Ice fills his veins at the sight, and he goes around, choosing to climb over the walls rather than chance a fight with it.

The shrine gives the Slate the ability to create bombs. Link spends several minutes tossing them over the wall at the not-dead contraption. It makes a loud, piercing whine as it explodes, and that fills Link with a strange feeling.

The statue’s remains, he picks over. There are screws, and gears, and the burnt out husk of something that still has a fading orange glow to it when he picks it up. The Slate, it turns out, can store the things he picks up, which is fortunate, and he puts them all away before making his way back to the monster camps he’d already wiped out and acquires a few extra weapons and shields.

He moves on.

The old man has a cabin in the woods. It’s fairly run-down, overgrown with moss. It seems as old as the old man. Did he really live there?

The old man lets him have an axe. He talks about a meal, whose ingredients he’s forgotten. Link’s stomach grumbles, and he spends some time hunting and fishing.

After a short time throwing wooden Bokoblin spears into a pond, he swaps to bombs. The spears _work_ , but the concussive blast wave is significantly more effective.

Hyrule Bass, Spicy Peppers, and meat, the ingredients turn out to be. It’s delicious, and he makes some more for the old man, who awards him with a thick, warm doublet. Hunger now sorted, and a protection from the cold of the plateau’s mountains now attained, he moves on. There’s a direct and easy way up, but he chooses to go through the other, more dense forest, now that he knows the Slate can store things. He hunts a few boars, keeps wandering around, and finds a plain with a series of rocks in the middle.

The rocks get up. It’s a big thing, but it’s slow, and not very smart, either. Another, smaller rock on its back is the weak point, and he whacks it a few times with a club he’s borrowed from the monsters before jumping off when it tries to shake him off, only to then throw the club at it.

It takes a while, and most of the weapons he’s gathered thus far, but it dies. It explodes, leaving behind a few glittering gems. They’re shiny, and they seem useful, so he takes them.

He gets a few more weapons from a camp not too far behind it. There’s arrows that set things on fire there, too. A trip worth the effort, in his opinion.

Eventually, he gets to the shrines.

One shrine gives him the ability to stop objects in time. Stasis. If he hits them, then when it releases, they go flying. He considers trying to catch a ride on them, but, not having any way to land softly, chooses to wait until after he acquires the Paraglider.

The other gives him the ability to create pillars of ice that aren’t very cold. They’re not slick. They don’t melt, even in the sun, nor do they move upon the river, or do they fall as they stretch sideways out of the waterfall. Ice isn’t meant to be anything like any of those things, but it’s convenient, so he doesn’t question it.

The old man appears, and then disappears into thin air, telling him to make his way to the midpoint of all those shrines. Draw a line between them all, and the X will mark the spot.

At least now he knows how the old man made it to the top of the tower before him.

Link goes, of course. The old man is waiting at the top of the temple, run-down and decayed.

The old man is a King. King Rhoam, who lost his life to Calamity Ganon, and who _knew_ Link. King Rhoam tells Link the story, and then begs him:

Save Zelda.

He will. His name is Link, Calamity is Evil, and he will Save Zelda. A third fact. 

King Rhoam hands over the Paraglider, but encourages Link not to head directly to the castle. His slumber has left him in a much weakened state, and he will need to recover, first. Rhoam advises him eastwards, towards the Sheikah village of Kakariko.

The King is haunted by his own past actions as much as he haunts the world, and Link listens. He can’t save Zelda if he’s dead, after all.

Kakariko is nearly a week of travel away. He meets, on the way there, a stable full of people, a man with an affection towards beetles, and a creature three times his size, named Hetsu, who has lost his Maracas to a trio of Bokoblins. He retrieves them, but it turns out the Maracas have also lost their Korok Seeds. Hetsu tells him the children of the forest love their pranks.

He finds two of them on the road to Kakariko, and then heads back. Hetsu is ecstatic, and expands his weapon inventory with a loud, wild dance that ends with a _pop_.

Link had been happy to help, really, but now he’s suddenly quite invested. He promises to keep an eye out.

Kakariko is as old as the traditions it embodies. Most of the people there are old, and there’s only a few children. Two guards let him into the main building when they see the Sheikah Slate. There’s a young, embarrassed girl cleaning the floor. Paya is her name, and she directs him inside after forgetting how to speak. It’s cute, but he should definitely get something that covers a bit more than his threadbare clothes.

Impa is inside. She is old and unfamiliar. Happy to see him awake, greeting him with a smile that fades a little when she realizes that he doesn’t know her.

From her, he receives quite a bit of information. She tells him a more ancient story, of the Calamity that had risen and then fallen ten thousand years ago. Divine Beasts, controlled now by Ganon, but which he might be able to do something about. Another Sheikah, in Hateno, who might be able to help.

There’s a shrine, just above Kakariko. The Monk inside instructs him on combat, and he faces a smaller not-dead statue, a Guardian. He’s quick to prove he remembers how to fight, and the Monk disintegrates as they pass on their blessing, the Spirit Orb.

An idol in the centre of the village feels familiar. He goes to it. A voice speaks, but it isn’t Zelda’s. The Goddess overs him strength in exchange for Spirit Orbs. 

He feels better as he leaves. 

There’s a shop, and it fortunately has clothes he can buy. He doesn’t have many Rupees, but when he takes out the jewels he received from the Stone Talus, the shopkeep smiles. 

He walks away with a Sheikah outfit that is deathly quiet in addition to new Hylian garments.

A story about Kakariko’s guardian leads him back up to the shrine, and then into the forest behind it. Small, ethereal creatures, Blupees, dart away from him when they see.

There is... _something_ , in the forest. Big, orange, glowing with faded power, with a number of small pink lights flitting around it. Some instinct has him wearing the Sheikah clothes, and he acquires a few of the small creatures.

The thing speaks to him. Asks him to listen to a tale. He does. It requests Rupees. Not many, but he doesn’t have many. He can, however, get more, so gives what he has.

The Great Fairy Cotera is a vision of beauty, incredibly large and just as flirty, covered by jewels and not much else.

With some materials he has on hand from the monsters he’s defeated thus far, she can upgrade his clothes. Give them a bit more strength, or enhance their effects. She can’t do much with her current power, so she tells him to keep an eye out for her sisters, and then sends him off with a wink after blowing a magic infused kiss at him.

He heads to Hateno. 

There’s more people in Hateno than there are in Kakariko. Not by too much, though. That thought leaves a ill feeling in his stomach.

A bit of asking around gets him directed to the tech lab. It’s on top of a hill, of course, and he enters to find a small child and an older man. The child directs him to the man. The man directs him to the child.

Purah is a child. She’s also Impa’s sister. She directs him back down and out in order to relight the lab’s furnace with a blue flame. Down the hill he goes, and then back up.

The Slate has pictures stored on it. Zelda has taken them. They might be the key to his memories. Purah also tells him to come back with ancient materials and Rupees, and she can upgrade his Slate’s Runes. He also learns that there is another tech lab run by another Sheikah, Robbie, in Akkala.

Find the places the pictures were taken, maybe get his memories back. Sounds like a plan to him.

The Slate proves its worth very quickly when it transports him back to Kakariko in only a few moments. It was a long trip on foot, but he’s crossed that entire distance for the sole price of some mild discomfort. He’ll have to keep an eye out for shrines. This travel method was just too convenient to not make use of it.

He heads north from Kakariko, towards the Lanaryu Wetlands. It is very wet. 

An unpleasant surprise he finds there is a Guardian, not one of its old and broken-down compatriots, but a fully-functioning one. He puts an arrow in its eye, and then attacks the legs. He still has a sword from the Guardian Scout at Kakariko’s shrine. It makes fairly quick work of them, rendering it immobile. It also breaks when he cuts into the head, but fortunately, it was the last strike he needed. Guardian materials acquired, and there’s a shrine and tower nearby, too.

Up the tower is a Zora. The fish-man seemed scared of heights, but also didn’t seem to be able to stop himself from looking over the edge. The Zora tells him that their Prince is looking for a Hylian, and points down at a bridge.

Link goes.

Prince Sidon is incredibly tall and equally _friendly_. He shouts encouragements and radiates sincerity. Link likes him.

One of the guards of Zora’s domain recognizes him. He’s happy to see Link. He’s also surprised Link is alive. He advises Link to avoid the more elderly Zora.

There’s a statue, carved from beautiful blue stone, in the domain. He lingers on it, looking at it, before moving on.

King Dorephan is _massive_. Even sitting down, he towers over Link. He also recognizes Link. Seems happy to see him, even. He’s sad when Link relays that he has no memories of him, or anyone else. 

Link gets an explanation. The Divine Beast, Vah Ruta, is going wild, constantly creating a massive deluge of rain and water. Not a problem for the Zora, no, but if it keeps going, Vah Ruta will break the dam, wash away the Domain, and probably a large portion of Hyrule with it.

He agrees to help. King Dorephan hands him a piece of Zora armor. King Dorephan’s advisor is not happy.

Zora armor is crafted by Zora to give to those they love, and intend to marry.

The advisor leaves, seeing it as a betrayal of Mipha’s memory that he receive that armor. Sidon goes to speak with him. 

The advisor, Muzu, was in charge of finding the lightning arrows they’d need in order to halt Ruta’s rampage. King Dorephan sends him after Muzu and Sidon.

Muzu refuses to help. Sidon claims that Mipha had loved Link.

He looks upon the statue.

_“I was thinking... this reminds me of the time we first met.”_

How could he have forgotten her?

Muzu is not impressed. He refuses to believe it.

The Zora Armor fits him perfectly.

Sidon points that out to Muzu, and Muzu is shocked. Mipha had loved Link.

The Shock Arrows are up a mountain. They’re guarded by a Lynel. 

Link could sneak around. It wouldn’t be difficult, with the Sheikah armor. 

Link does not do that. What he does is go to the cooking pot, prepare a large, hearty meal that uses many of the Hearty Truffles he’s picked up thus far. 

And then he goes and fights a Lynel. It’s probably not the best decision he’s ever made, but he makes it for one reason.

It only takes a single Shock Arrow to kill a Zora.

The fight actually goes pretty well. Link is _agile_ , and Lynels are big. Not slow, but they are big. It swings its sword, and he flips over it. Time itself slows down as he rushes in, unleashing a flurry of blows in a moment. It roars, charges, and Link swings his shield so hard that the Lynel bounces back. He stabs it with a spear as it recovers. It breathes fire at him, but in the heavy rain, it’s not nearly as dangerous as it might otherwise be. It grabs a bow and nocks a Shock Arrow, but he’s a much quicker and much more accurate archer, and it receives an arrow to the eye for the trouble.

He comes back to Sidon with more than the arrows they need.

Vah Ruta is... not as troubling as he was expecting. It reacts when they get close, summoning blocks of ice that shoot after them. Link shoots one with an arrow, and then realizes that they look similar to the ice blocks produced by the Cryonis Rune. Cryonis, it turns out, also breaks the ice blocks produced by Vah Ruta. 

Easy. Link breaks them, Sidon takes him waterfalls, and then Link sends Shock Arrows into the machinery, shutting them off. 

Repeat.

Easy.

Vah Ruta dips into the water. He gets aboard. Sidon wishes him luck.

Mipha’s voice speaks to him. She sounds so happy, and it’s like Link is being stabbed with a dagger that freezes all the blood in his veins. She’s still _here_ , in this thing corrupted by Calamity’s Malice.

It doesn’t take too long to activate Vah Ruta’s terminals. 

Pink and black and _Evil_ swirl from the Main Control Unit. Lines of blue Sheikah light swirl together behind him. The _thing_ that appears is an abomination.

“ _Please be careful._ ” Mipha says. It’s one of Ganon’s creations, and it took her life a hundred years ago. “ _I have faith in you._ ”

Waterblight is anger and fury and hate, and it stands no chance whatsoever against him. So large, so slow, every movement telegraphed. It swipes, and he dodges. It lunges, and he moves in, letting it’s spear go past. It flings ice, and he freezes them in place before hitting them enough times that when Stasis breaks, they knock Waterblight to the ground. 

It charges energy like a Guardian, and he holds still. If he has the strength to knock a Lynel down with a shield bash, then this will be nothing.

The beam lances out. Fast. 

But he’s prepared. He swings, and it makes an odd noise, and the beam just about kills Waterblight. 

Link stabs. 

Waterblight shrieks as it dies.

Mipha appears to him. She’s so happy.

Her Grace settles against his soul. 

He had not realized how much he’d missed her until that moment.

Vah Ruta calms. Submerges into the water, and travels along the river, following tunnels that none other than the Zora even knew existed. Vah Ruta emerges at a mountain lake, and settles, facing towards Hyrule Castle.

A beam of red light, so similar to the Guardians but so much more dangerous, tracked its way to the castle. Vah Ruta did not fire. Not yet.

Link appears with a flash of golden light in front of the Domain.

King Dorephan is happy. The other elders, also happy. There’s a feast, and at the end of it, Dorephan gifts him with Mipha’s own Lightscale Trident. 

He sets off the next day. 

Mipha isn’t the only Champion, after all, that was felled inside their Divine Beast.

The closest Divine Beast is Vah Rudania, in Death Mountain. Link doesn’t head straight there, as between the Zora’s Domain and Death Mountain is Akkala. There’s probably a score of shrines to find, too.

Of course, he visits Impa to tell her about Vah Ruta, first.

She’s happy. She also figured as much, considering she could see the red line of Vah Ruta’s targeting laser.

Off to Akkala he goes. 

The tower is surrounded by flying Guardians. It’s good, because he now has a lot of materials. Navigating the infectious, corrosive Malice that’s materialized around it is difficult, but not impossible.

After that, he heads north-east, towards the tech lab.

This time, he takes a look around before he climbs all the way up. There’s another furnace, and he’s glad he did, since he now only has to make the one trip.

Robbie is... enthusiastic. Spry, and just as small as Purah, but while she looks young, he looks old. Cherry is another Ancient machine, mostly repaired and mostly helpful.

Goodbye Rupees. Hello Ancient equipment.

Over the cliff and across the water is a massive maze. Getting there is not easy, but he manages. Another shrine.

He heads back south-east. A spring, and a memory with it. Zelda prays, and prays, and prays, and never gets any answers. Is the Goddess truly so cruel? 

A string of shrines make for easy transportation points. He stops at the stable at the base of the mountain, and picks up a few elixirs that will get him up the mountain without burning alive.

Even with the elixirs, the heat is a killer.

He doesn’t have enough elixirs to use them the entire time in Goron City, but fortunately, they sell armor that contains the same effect.

Boss Bludo is shorter than Sidon, taller than Link, and weighs more than both of the latter put together by several times over. He’s not fat. He’s a Goron, which means he’s made mostly of rock, muscle, rock, and _grit_.

Boss Bludo is old, though. He has a bad back. Rudania is causing problems, and Bludo normally shoots it with a cannon to get it to go away. Yunobu, another Goron, was sent to get his medicine.

Yunobu hasn’t come back yet.

Link finds him trapped inside of a room by boulders. Yunobu is happy, and rolls off.

Link follows. 

Boss Bludo’s back is bad enough that he wants to call off the hitting Rudania with a cannon plan, but, fortunately, Link is there.

Yunobu, apparently, is a descendent of Daruk. Bludo points out the mountain that’s been carved in Daruk’s image.

_“Hey, little guy!”_

Daruk was a good friend. Big and boisterous in a way that only the Gorons could be. Solid as the rocks they ate and ten times as dependable.

Link heads up to Yunobu, and finds him menaced by Moblins. The Moblins shortly find themselves being menaced by Link.

Link fires Yunobu out of a cannon. He’s unharmed, thanks to Daruk’s Protection, and it gets the bridge to drop.

Link fires Yunobu out of a cannon three more times. The target for each one is Vah Rudania, which makes its way up the mountain as they continue. It releases some kind of Ancient Sentry that scans for them. There’s a bunch of metal boxes around the place, though, and Magnesis lets him use them as bludgeoning tools against the Sentries. They’re not bothered.

Rudania drops into the caldera of Death Mountain, standing atop the lava that flows out. Link jumps in. He is admittedly kind of curious why his Paraglider isn’t bursting into flames despite being made of wood and cloth, but he’s not going to question it. It’s probably ghost magic, or something.

Another set of terminals, and then the Main Control Unit, and just like with Vah Ruta, an abomination appears.

“ _Watch yourself, now._ ” Daruk rumbles. Another of Ganon’s monsters, and another that took a Champion’s life. “ _Go get ‘im!_ ”

Anger, fury, and hate. Fireblight isn’t as large as Waterblight, but if anything, it’s even slower. 

The only trouble it gives him is when it surrounds itself with a barrier. That’s a problem that solves itself when it starts drawing in energy, a vortex of air rushing in. Link tosses a bomb, which gets sucked in, and when it detonates, Fireblight comes crashing to the ground.

Repeat. 

Fireblight dies.

Daruk grins.

His Protection settles alongside Mipha’s Grace. 

Goddess, but it’s good to be with friends.

Vah Rudania crawls to the edge of the caldera. It’s face opens, and another targeting beam marks Hyrule Castle.

Halfway there.

Bludo is happy that Rudania has calmed down. Yunobu is a bit more confident. Daruk’s Boulder Breaker is a massive, heavy thing, but Link is strong enough to wield it.

Vah Medoh is the next closest Divine Beast. Getting near it, however, isn’t as easy. Heading west from Death Mountain would take him into Hebra, which is incredibly cold. The warm doublet he’d received from King Rhoam wouldn’t be enough to deal with that, which meant he would need elixirs, or more warm clothes. 

Asking around the stable, however, told him the best place to get more warm clothes was inside Rito Village, which was precisely where he was heading in the first place. 

The other way to get there, other than going through Hebra, was to cross through Hyrule Field. Hyrule Field, which housed dozens, maybe hundreds, of Guardians. 

A daunting, but not impossible, prospect. He was hardly likely to encounter them all, after all. Maybe a dozen along the path, at best.

There was a Sheikah Tower, west of Death Mountain, before Hebra, however. Link ended up going towards it.

On the way, he stumbled upon a familiar spot. One of the photos in the Slate matched it.

_“That cut doesn’t look too bad, actually.”_

Oh. He’d fought four Lynels and a hoard of Bokoblins, here. Zelda had been as much concerned as she was scolding. He’d taken a hit, then. Just the one, though. The Master Sword had ever-

Ah. Right. The Master Sword.

Link looks out, seeing the curtains of fog that covered the nearby forest. 

The Master Sword had been lost. He’d have to search to find it, wouldn’t he?

Link goes on.

The Tower is activated, and then a few nearby shrines, before he goes to the forest. 

He finds his way through, of course. Laying within is, as it happens, exactly the sword he had been looking for.

He reaches out to it-

_“Link. You are our final hope. The fate of Hyrule rests with you!”_

A tree yawns, and greets him. 

The Great Deku Tree is another old being who remembers him. It tells him about the Master Sword, and offers a warning. He would be tested, if he tries to wield it.

His hand reaches out. The handle is smooth and warm.

He lets go. He knows that he isn’t ready yet.

Another goal is added to the list. Regaining the Master Sword is an important goal, and there are still regions he hasn’t been to. 

Link goes back to Kakariko. Impa gives him a tunic, old and light blue and obviously cared-for. Zelda had made it for him, a hundred years ago.

Link goes east. Lanayru mountain beckons, but Link heads a bit north of it, first, upon seeing a Sheikah platform.

He meets, then, a Rito by the name of Kass. A musician, who sings for him a song about the platform. The puzzle contained within reveals a shrine when solved. It’s the first of many such meetings.

Two more shrines afterwards, and he heads back to the mountain. It’s cold, but a Flameblade is warm against his back, and the warm doublet takes the rest of the edge off.

A memory, at its base. Him, the Champions, the Princess, the moments before the disaster. Zelda, so sad, so disappointed in herself, but it’s never been _her_ fault, has it?

A Dragon is enchained upon the peak of the mountain by Malice. Link wastes no time freeing the spirit. Another shrine is revealed when he offers Naydra’s scale to the waters of the spring.

He goes down the other side of the mountain. Another shrine, and then he heads back towards Necluda, following the edge of the sea. 

Eventually, he makes his way into Faron, shrine after shrine after shrine opened in his wake. 

Another Dragon, but Farosh is free of corruption. Another scale, and one of Kass’ song leads him to the spring. 

Back to Kakariko. He has Spirit Orbs. The Goddess gives him strength. It seems she has no trouble speaking to him. Why had her own blood gone unanswered for so long?

To Korok Forest. 

The Master Sword drains him severely. It feels like he’s about to collapse, right before the blade comes free of the stone. The handle feels like an old friend in his grip.

The Deku Tree congratulates him. 

Zelda, then, tells him of trials. The Master Sword does not have its full power, quite yet. The Deku Tree elaborates a bit more.

Link takes the trials. It’s... not as difficult as he was expecting. Fighting monsters in bad conditions? He’s been doing that since the beginning. They give him the tools he needs to survive, and all he needs is patience, then.

Three trials, and the Master Sword shines brilliantly. 

There are still many shrines left. And there are still memories to unveil.

A painter in Kakariko is able to shed light on the locations of a few pictures. Link heads to the Dueling Peaks, finding a pair of shrines that each contain the other’s answer. From the southern, taller peak, he can see the flooded ruins of what was once Deya village. 

Another memory, underneath a tree. Rain, and Zelda, feeling the weight of her responsibilities. 

The next memory isn’t too far away. Across the river, down the road, near to a lake. A bright, sunny day, as Zelda talks about Vah Rudania. Created by people, something that could be understood. She asks Link if he has heard the voice that supposedly belongs to the Master Sword.

It is warm and comforting, in his hands. But if the blade speaks, he hears nothing.

He continues, of course. Hyrule Field is significantly less threatening, now, compared to how it was before. Daruk’s Protection is ever-ready, but it proves unnecessary as Link cleaves the Guardians apart. Past the tower and in front of the ruins of Castle Town is a broken stone stage and another memory.

A ceremony. Zelda cites statements of ascendance and blessing. The Champions watch on. The air is somber, and Zelda falters slightly before continuing. The Champions talk, and Link can’t help but overhear. To the Zelda of then, Link is a reminder of her own failures.

It occurs to him that in all these memories, he’s not seen her smile.

The Castle is just ahead. Link will have to go there, eventually. One of the pictures, however, was taken from within it. 

Will she be smiling, in it? In her home?

There is no harm in investigating the castle, even if he isn’t ready to fight Calamity just yet, he decides.

The Castle is overrun with Malice, corrupted Guardians, and monsters. The rest of Hyrule has healed, but not this place. This place is dead, and Calamity is stubbornly keeping it that way.

There’s a shrine, under the castle. A good place to enter from. The memory is up near Zelda’s study.

She is smiling. A Guardian follows directions, uncorrupted. Zelda is happy, and excited, talking to Link about it. Then her father, King Rhoam, enters, and suddenly, she isn’t happy anymore.

He heads west, after the castle. The Ridgelands are not easy or pleasant terrain, but they’re far from the worst. Thundra plateau is unpleasantly wet and dangerously stormy, but he handles the challenge.

North-east of the tower is one memory, and far south is another. The first, and Zelda is excited, showing Link flowers and plants, talking about their uses. The Silent Princess, which she loves, but which refuses to be tamed. Then she sees a frog and tries to feed it to him. 

The second, and they’re riding on horses. Mount Lanayru towers in the distance, and Zelda tells him she plans to travel there in order to pray at the third and final spring. She hopes it will awaken her power. 

But Link already knows it doesn’t.

He heads towards Tabantha.

The canyon is massive, and it is late as he crosses the bridge. A wall of heat and power, and the third Dragon, Dinraal, sweeps underneath. Another scale to offer.

Fortunately, there’s a shrine nearby, just up a ridge. Even more fortunately, a memory lays with it.

Zelda is... frustrated. She insists on not needing an escort. She does not like the him-of-then. He follows, even though she snaps at him for it. They eventually become friends, he knows, but it still hurts.

Two memories left.

He takes a brief detour to the Spring of Power to offer Dinraal’s scale, and then continues from the previous shrine. 

Tabantha tower is ringed with Malice.

Rito Village is north of it. Vah Medoh circles above.

_“Impressive, I know.”_

Revali... had been kind of a jerk, actually.

Perhaps unfair. Revali was, in a word, prideful, but that pride had been earned. Not a leader, not royalty, no special blood, just an unending determination to be _better_. The Rito’s greatest warrior.

There’s a shop, selling warm clothes. Rito feathers are amazingly warm. Hebra will be no challenge, now.

He eventually finds his way to the Flight Range. Teba, a white-feathered Rito, is practicing there, preparing to attack Vah Medoh and bring it down. Link offers his help, and after proving his skill, Teba allows him to join.

Vah Medoh has a barrier that’s ringed with cannons. Link destroys them, but Teba takes a hit to his leg and must leave. 

Going alone, again.

But he isn’t alone, of course, as Revali is quick to direct him.

Terminals. Main Control Unit. Vah Medoh is larger than Vah Rudania or Vah Ruta by far, but Link makes his way through.

The third abomination materializes.

“ _Good luck._ ” Revali says. It killed him, but Revali assures it was only because he was winging it. “ _I can’t believe I’m actually saying this... But, you must avenge me, Link!_ ”

And so he does.

Windblight is accurate, with a weapon that fires fast. Link, however, is agile, and he still has quite a number of Bomb Arrows left over from destroying Vah Medoh’s cannons.

Anger, fury, hate. Doesn’t help it.

The Bomb Arrows bring it down. The Master Sword parts the Malice that is its flesh with ease. It dies.

Revali is flamboyant. 

His Gale settles in place.

Revali acknowledges him. It had only taken both of them dying.

Vah Medoh settles on the spire of Rito Village. The third red targeting laser marks the throne room.

The last Divine Beast, Vah Naboris, is in the desert. Link does not head directly there, not just yet. There’s only two pictures left, and one of them is an oasis in that desert, but the other is a forest. 

Pikango the painter directs him to the latter.

That memory is... hard to bear. It’s raining heavily. Link has the Master Sword in one hand, and clutches Zelda’s hand with his other. They’re both filthy, covered in mud. She falls to her knees in despair, and he kneels in front of her. She blames herself for everything that’s happened.

Link can only hold her as she cries.

It takes a few hours, before he gets moving, again. He’s so close to ending it, anyway.

To the desert, he goes.

Kara Kara Bazaar holds the final memory. Zelda, chased by assassins. The red-clad Yiga, come to claim her life when she left the safety of Gerudo Town. They came so close before Link arrived. One assassin drops. The other two leave, in fear of their lives.

It had been after that that she’d truly tried to make friends with him.

He heads to Gerudo Town.

Men, Voe, are not allowed in Gerudo Town.

He ends up back in the Bazaar, wearing Gerudo clothes that are... perhaps _too_ familiar on his skin. It isn’t quite memory that makes Link shift his body language, but he realizes that he’s worn this before. Why? Who had taught him? For what reason?

Who could answer?

Back to Gerudo Town. The guards don’t bat an eye. Nor do the shopkeepers. The only one that realizes that there Link is not a Vai is the young Chief, Riju, a small child. 

Riju sends him after a Gerudo artifact, the Thunder Helm, which was stolen. Guards and soldiers end up informing him that it was the Yiga, and from there, he tracks the Yiga down to a hideout in a nearby canyon.

Sheikah clothes come in useful inside the hideout. There’s a captured Gerudo soldier, who provides him with some useful information. The Yiga are assassins, but he is apparently better at it than they are. The moment they turn their back to him, they get a blade in it. 

Bananas, it turns out, are their weakness. Throw one in front of them, and they just can’t resist going after it.

There’s plenty of chests and precious gems, but the Thunder Helm isn’t inside the hideout. A fake wall opens out into a wide area with a deep pit.

The Yiga Clan’s leader appears, then. He’s... odd. Not at all what Link is expecting. Fat and silly. Still a murderer, and woefully unprepared to deal with Link.

The Thunder Helm is retrieved. Riju puts it on.

_“Ah, well... You certainly got here fast.”_

Urbosa. Tall and strong. Furiously dangerous, and yet, she _cared_. For Zelda, so young, yet bearing so much weight. The daughter of a dear friend, who she wouldn’t have hesitated to take as her own if she could.

Riju and Link ride out the next morning. The Thunder Helm shields them from the lightning strikes of Vah Naboris, and Link sends Bomb Arrows into the legs. 

Terminals. Control Unit. Repeat. 

The fourth abomination takes form.

“ _Stay on your edge, Link!_ ” Urbosa proclaims, announcing her killer. “ _Fight for your life... And its death!_ ”

Thunderblight is larger than Link but smaller than the rest of its kin. It is a devilishly fast creature, jumping around so quickly that it blurs.

Link is grateful, then, that he came here last. It’s fast enough that it troubles him, and it’s only finely honed instinct that allows him to parry its lightning-quick attacks. It gets worse when it draws upon Naboris’ lightning, and he’s quite grateful that he came prepared with shock elixirs.

The battle is not long, but it is definitely the most furious. Neither allow the other a moment of respite, but Link is the one who emerges victorious as the Master Sword bites into Thunderblight’s neck.

Urbosa congratulates him.

Her Fury settles in place. 

Calm, steady- until the moment came, and then everything was unleashed. Just like Urbosa.

Vah Naboris climbs the cliffs, and the fourth laser marks its target.

There are still shrines to find. Hebra has yet to be really explored, and the Gerudo Highlands are much the same. Zelda’s voice rings in his ears, and she tells him to head back to where it began, the Shrine of Resurrection.

He will, but first, he travels to Kakariko. 

Impa gives him one final destination. One last memory. The Ash Swamp, which he had been past multiple times before.

He goes. 

The last memory is... _His_ last memory. He is exhausted, wounded horrifically, surrounded by Guardians, the Master Sword chipped rusted and broken, but still, he doesn’t give up. Zelda is right behind him, and he _will_ protect her. She begs him to run, to save himself. A Guardian approaches.

She pushes him out of the way, so desperate. There’s a flash, of beautiful golden light, and the Guardians all collapse, purged of Calamity’s influence. Safe.

But with nothing to fight, Link can’t keep on. He collapses, and Zelda rushes to his side, cradling him. He’ll be okay, she insists, even though he knows that he’s already on the edge of death.

His eyes close. He doesn’t have the strength to move. A pulse at his side, and he hears the barest whisper of a voice. A man shouts for the Princess, and he hears a final order before he truly falls unconscious.

The Sheikah are entrusted with his life. They will take him to the Shrine of Resurrection.

And so Zelda approached Calamity all on her own.

He had been prepared to give his life for her.

And, really, he _had_ given his life for her.

Link doesn’t remember moving, after that. Doesn’t remember going to sleep. He wakes up in the nearby stable, at dawn.

He is so, _so_ close to saving her. Soon.

He goes back to the Shrine of resurrection. 

Another set of trials await. A Sheikah Monk announces themself, Maz Koshia. A weapon is presented, and it sucks the life out of him when he picks it up. 

One hit, one kill. Both for himself, and for his enemies. 

They don’t stand a _chance_. 

More shrines, different, taller, appear. Four of them, and the weapon is replaced. A new set of challenges; four locations marked on his Slate.

Kass meets him at every one of them, somehow. His presence activates the new platforms, and each one in turn activates three shrines. He completes them, and gains emblems of the Divine Beasts. With all three, he’s allowed to challenge the Blights again.

Proving himself against them, Maz Koshia summons him back to the Shrine of Resurrection. It descends into the ground, revealing even more Sheikah constructions. Another set of puzzles, and in solving them, he can open the door that awaits.

Maz Koshia is on the other side, inside the same stasis cubes that surrounded all the other monks.

Then his finger twitches. A hand clenches into a fist. None of the Sheikah Monks had ever moved, but Maz Koshia stands up with a smooth movement that sends chills down Link’s spine.

The Final Trial, the Sheikah Monk announces, is a battle with Maz Koshia.

It is by far the hardest battle he’s faced, so far. Maz Koshia is skilled, powerful, agile, and has a pile of Sheikah techniques to deploy. He makes clones, tilts the battlefield, grows to immense size and strength, summons a wall of spiked balls, creates tornadoes, disappears and reappears freely, and even charges power in exactly the same way as a Guardian does. 

Link wins. It’s the nearest battle he’s ever faced.

Maz Koshia presents him with an Ancient contraption for the victory.

There’s only a few more Shrines left. The moment is approaching. The Master Cycle Zero is more than up to the task of getting him to where he needs to go.

In an ancient temple, he completes the last shrine. The Monks reward him for the effort, gifting him clothes that he’s never worn but which are so familiar that it almost hurts.

The moment is here. 

Link goes to the Castle. 

There’s a mass of Malice in the throne room, pink and red and black, that pulsates like a heart. 

Calamity Ganon bursts free. It’s a hideous thing, malformed, spider-like and _oozing_.

Link is ready.

So are the Champions.

Blue light streams from above. Calamity Ganon looks up as Sheikah energy concentrates, and then bursts, raining down upon him with all the righteous fury the Divine Beasts can muster.

Calamity Ganon collapses, but it isn’t dead. Not yet. It draws itself back up, howling.

Link draws the Master Sword.

Calamity had, clearly, learned nothing from its Blights. All the same powers and abilities, but it was still large, and still too cumbersome. Link, too agile.

It’s not a long battle, weakened as Calamity Ganon. It screeches as it dissolves, pink Malice rushing up, out of the chamber they find themselves in. Zelda’s power concentrates, and Link appears with a flash of golden light in front of a storm of swirling evil.

Ganon has given up on becoming anything more than a beast. It’s a massive, terrible thing, but devoid of anything other than rage and power.

Zelda sends him the Bow of Light. Her power rends open the Malice that surrounds his body, and Link fires arrows into the gaps, weakening it.

Finally, they reach the final moment. Zelda forces open the core of the Dark Beast’s being. 

Link breathes in. Time slows. The arrow of light is loosed.

Ganon disintegrates, again. 

Zelda appears, haloed with golden light and the Goddess’ power. Calamity swirls around, trying, one last time, to attack.

Zelda holds up her hand, resolute, determined. A golden sun blooms, and Ganon howls as it is banished from the world.

Zelda stands, and Link, slowly, approaches.

“May I ask... Do you really remember me?”

Link smiles and laughs so hard he cries. Zelda does the same as the sheer _relief_ hits her.

Where do they go from there? Onwards, of course. Zelda is filthy, and hungry, and so very tired, but Link will help. He takes her to a river, and with a Great Flameblade to heat the water, she bathes while he cooks. He gives her some of his clothes and she burns that filthy white dress that she’s hated for a hundred years. She can barely stay awake, so Link encourages her to get what rest she can while they ride to Kakariko.

It takes a day or so. Kakariko is quite far. Link doesn’t push the horse past what it can take.

So they ride into Kakariko. _Everybody_ already knows, of course. Nobody could miss the light that the Divine Beasts had unleashed upon Hyrule Castle. Everybody can see that the Malice is well and truly gone. Everybody saw that shining golden light banished the darkness.

The Princess and the Hero are greeted with cheers, and utter, beautiful relief. 

Three days after it is all done, Link and Zelda converse, quietly, under a tree. There’s a long future ahead of them. A people scattered, word to be given out. Things to be rebuilt.

Difficult, but nothing compared to what they’ve already faced. Link promises that he will be with her every step of the way, and Zelda hugs him close. 

They sleep. 

When they wake, the next day, it’s with a bright smile and hope in their hearts. 

That is the tale.

It’s a good one.

...

But this is not that tale. This differs... just a bit. Most everything is the same, except for the ending.

It goes something like this:

Three days after it is all done, Link and Zelda converse, quietly, under a tree. There’s a long future ahead of them. A people scattered, word to be given out. Things to be rebuilt.

Difficult, but nothing compared to what they’ve already faced. Link promises that he will be with her every step of the way, and Zelda hugs him close. 

They sleep.

Then-

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

These are the words that begin a lengthy tale. 

It is a tale of a Hero, awoken, in a strange, ancient cave, with naught but a voice to guide him.

It is a tale of triumph. It is a tale of melancholy. It is a tale with an unfortunate beginning.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”, says the voice, and so the Hero does. He is so very confused, in these early moments, and it is only thanks to the voice that he’s able to do anything at all.

He wakes, lying in a strange bed, blue liquid draining away from his body. He feels... not _weak_ , but certainly _drained_. The room is sealed, and appears to be fashioned entirely from black and brown stone. There is light, and it comes from the stone, pulsing with shining blue.

He stands, and he sees not too far away a pedestal. It glows with blue light, and Link moves over to it. As he approaches, the pedestal shifts, and offers up to him a strange, rectangular device, also glowing with blue light. Lines of orange light pulse their way across it.

“ _That is a Sheikah Slate. Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber._ ” The voice directs, and Link does so shortly. It takes only a moment before he’s able to activate it.

A series of columns shift, and rise into the ceiling. A passage, opened. 

Link moves. Two stone chests, and he finds a few tattered, threadbare clothes. Better than the undergarments he had been wearing, but not by much.

Another pedestal at the end of the next room, and the voice directs him to hold the Sheikah Slate up to it. He does so, of course, and the door opens. Sunlight shines into the room.

“ _Link..._ ” The voice says, slowly. “ _You are the light -our light- that must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now go..._ ”

And so he does.

Outside is a picturesque view, lush green land, mountains in the distance, snowy peaks and an angry volcano both. A castle is also present, but it stands in stark contrast to the beauty of the world around it. There is a strange, dark, pink swirl surrounding it, and just _looking_ at it brings a chill to everything that is good and right. 

**Evil.**

The word cements itself in his mind as he sees it. It’s a fact, one that he is as sure of as his own name.

He turns away. 

The ground slopes downwards and to the right, from the entrance to the cave he’d emerged from. Not too far down is a fire, and a large, old man with a lantern and a cloak. 

Link stares at him, and he may as well have swallowed Malice for how his stomach feels. It’s only now, when he can feel the heat of the fire against his skin, the wind in his hair, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white, that he can think through the confused _dread_ that’s filled him since he woke up in that blue pool.

“Are you alright?” The old man asks, head tilting minutely as he directs a slightly worried gaze at Link.

Link swallows, and, slowly, sits down. He opens his mouth, and the sound that comes out is hoarse.

The old man quickly offers him a waterskin. Link, slowly, takes it.

“Drink.” The old man says, carefully. “Slowly.”

Link does.

It takes effort to swallow.

He takes three gulps.

Wordlessly, he hands the waterskin back, looking at the fire. He breathes in, shakily, and then out, still shakily.

“I-” His voice cracks. Link massages his throat, slowly. “I...”

“Take your time.” The old man says, voice kind and steady. 

Link sucks in another breath. 

“King Rhoam.” He says, and the old man jerks back in surprise, eyes widening beneath the hood. “Haven’t we been here before?”


	2. Chapter 2

The King blinks. Barely visible under the hood, but Link is short and that does rather help.

“You remember?” King Rhoam asks, slowly. “That is... good. Yes, good.”

He straightens, and the old man vanishes with a burst of teal flame. King Rhoam, in his full regalia, now sits.

“Yes.” King Rhoam nods. “You have been here before, Link. Not too often, I believe, but you did come up to this plateau a few times when you were in our family’s service. Zelda personally brought you up here once, if I remember correctly.”

Rhoam turns towards the castle, which means he misses the look that Link directs at him.

“You gave your life for my daughter.” Rhoam spoke. “And she is giving hers for all of Hyrule. That monster is trapped within the castle by her power. I am afraid to say, but it has been one hundred years since Calamity appeared.”

He turns back. Link seems horrified. Rhoam tries to give an encouraging look, but it comes out like a grimace, instead.

“I have no right to ask anything of you.” Rhoam says. “You have already given so much. But, please-”

“I’ll save her.” Link says. 

Rhoam blinks, and, tentatively, smiles. “You are a good man, Link. Hyrule doesn’t deserve you.” Rhoam stands up, and holds a hand out to the Hero. “Come. I can’t help you very much, but I will do everything in my power to ease your journey.”

And so Rhoam does. He gives Link food. He gives Link weapons. He gives Link shields. He provides bows and arrows, and a warm doublet for the colder areas. He shows Link how to use the Sheikah Slate, praising him on how quickly he picks things up.

“How did you learn how to use this?” Link asks, and _this time_ , he gets an answer.

“I have been a spirit for one hundred years.” Rhoam says. “I spent much of my time searching for ways to help Zelda. What I know now is the result of all that time. She’d have done better, I think. Zelda was always intrigued by such things. Yet another mistake I made...”

Rhoam directs him to the tower. Link activates it, again. It rises, just like how he remembered.

“It would be reckless to head directly to the castle at this point.” Rhoam says, as the map appears on the slate. “Your slumber has taken a lot from you. We all thought it would take your memories, too...”

Link remembers when it did.

“See that shrine?” Rhoam points over the edge of the tower. “If my research was correct, then the shrines on this plateau are special. Supposedly, they contain runes for the Sheikah Slate. There are also Ancient Sheikah Monks inside. They have been waiting for ten thousand years for a Hero of Courage to appear. If you complete their trials, they should give you the Spirit Orbs they have held for so long. Those will help you regain your strength.”

Link nods.

“Take this.” Rhoam hands the Paraglider. “You have more use for it than I do.”

It’s a departure from before. Link... feels grateful for that.

The shrines are the same. The decayed Guardian is the same. The Talus, the same. The Monsters, the same. But with King helping so much more, it’s accomplished far quicker.

“Go to Kakariko.” The King says. “Impa is much older, now, but she still lives. She will be able to help you.”

Link nods.

The King smiles. A tinge of melancholy enters his expression, and he turns back to the castle. “There is much I wish I could say. Much, I wish I had said. In the castle library, there is a false shelf. Behind it is my private study. I am not certain if my diary has survived all this time, but, if it has, then, when all of this over, please give it to my daughter.”

“I will.” Link agrees.

The King fades away.

Link looks at the castle.

“ _I must ask..._ ” Zelda’s voice says, slowly. “ _Do you really remember me?_ ”

“Yes.” Link answers.

“ _I am... very glad to hear that._ ” Zelda sighs in pure relief. “ _Don’t rush here, Link. Calamity is a terrible beast. Take your time. Find the shrines. Free the Divine Beasts. I will hold for as long as you need._ ”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Zelda laughs.

Link goes to the statue in the temple. The Goddess’ voice echoes. She gives the same greeting as he remembers. The same offer.

Link... pauses.

“Did you send me back, Goddess?” He asks. “Did I do something wrong, before?”

The Goddess doesn’t answer.

Several minutes and several questions, and no closer to answers.

But she’s obviously still listening, because Link offers the Spirit Orbs and she takes them.

Why?

There is no way to get an answer.

Link goes to Kakariko. 

“You’re finally awake.” Impa smiles. Her eyes trace up and down his form, before meeting his own gaze. “You know who I am, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Link answers. He then takes a seat, crossing his legs underneath him in that particular way that those who learned from the Sheikah were taught. 

Impa’s smile widens at the sight. “We had worried that the Shrine of Resurrection would take your memories, but it appears you went through it intact.”

“The King said something similar.” Link agrees.

One of Impa’s eyebrows raises. “Rhoam?”

“His spirit lingered.” Link explained. 

Impa’s eyes closed. “Hmm. Of course it did. Rhoam had many regrets, before his death.” She sighs, and then hops off of her pillows. “Come. Let’s get you something more intact than those ratty clothes.”

Paya squeaks as they walk out the door. Dorian and Cado snap to attention, both looking startled. Lasli the greeter stumbles her way through the greeting. Claree the shopkeep startles badly. 

“Everybody seems terrified of you.” Link can’t help but note.

“Nothing of the sort.” Impa scoffs. “I simply don’t get out very much these days.”

Impa then proceeds to command Claree’s assistance with a new outfit. The way the younger Sheikah woman instantly jumps to assist casts doubt on Impa’s words. 

“No need for the tunic.” Impa says. “I have your Champion’s Tunic.”

“Throw it in anyway.” Link requests from Claree, before pulling out several gems that the Talus had kindly donated to his cause. “And the Sheikah set, too.”

Claree smiles. 

Impa scoffs, again, at the sight of the gems, but this time it’s filled with that particular mix of exasperation and fondness that she used to reserve solely for Zelda. “Somehow, your hoarding tendency is even worse than it used to be.”

Link escorts her back to her house. Impa gives him the light blue Champion Tunic. She tells him to head to Hateno, and visit Purah.

He does, but not before first visiting Cotera.

Having learned from last time, he acquires a torch and lights a blue flame before he goes up the hill.

Purah is... significantly less restrained, this time. She greets him with a happy ‘Linky!’, before immediately pivoting to ask him if he lit the furnace with the blue flame.

“You must’ve come out of the Slumber of Restoration in good shape!” Purah says.

“Yes.” Link says, before asking a question he didn’t get an answer to, last time. “Purah, why are you six?”

Symin exhaled, hiding a chuckle in the corner of the room.

Purah waved her hands, as if such a small thing like why a woman over a hundred years old looked like a young child was completely irrelevant. “Oh, there was a small accident with anti-aging runes, but MORE IMPORTANTLY, you remember?!”

Link leans back, a little, in the face of her enthusiasm. “Yes.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” Purah pulled a book from the table, and scribbled in it. “Contrary... to expectations... the subject... maintains... memories... after... Slumber of Restoration. I could have sworn I read the warnings right, you know. It explicitly mentioned the loss of memories.”

“Maybe something went weird.” He said, because sometimes, the only method of distracting Purah’s technological enthusiasm was to direct it. “Purah, Impa sent me here to get help with the Slate.”

“Snap!” Purah flicked her hands up. “She sent you to the right place!”

In short order, she fixed the Slate up. Not too different from last time.

Except...

“Also-” He says, activating the Slate and scrolling to its inventory. “- I picked up a few things. Can you do anything with them?”

Ancient Screws, Gears, Springs, and Power Cores materialize alongside a pile of glittering golden Rupees. This time, he knew she could make use of them. 

Purah grins. “Linky, you are a _darling_.”

Link heads back to Kakariko.

“Did you know that Purah is six, now?” He asks, because he honestly hadn’t thought to ask this, last time.

Impa sets down her tea, slowly. “Purah is what?”

That would be a no, then.

“Impa asked if you still have the anti-aging rune research.” He informs Purah, who cackles.

Last time, Link headed up to Zora’s Domain.

This time, he doesn’t. This time, he sweeps south of Hateno, travelling across Necluda before heading west into Faron. He did similar, last time, but in a different order, and the journey he took then meandered much more.

This time, he can go off of his memories of where and how the shrines are hidden. What had taken more than a month last time is cut down to two weeks, this time. 

Link makes a point of dropping by Lurelin and picking up the Shock Arrows they have on sale there. He makes another point of acquiring the Hearty Durians near Faron Tower.

After that, though, he does head back up to Zora’s Domain. The threat of the East Reservoir Dam breaking and creating a flood is a rather considerable one, he feels, and he’s already more prepared now than he was before.

Shrines, tower, Gruve the Zora who is scared of heights, bridge.

Sidon is a welcome sight. But nothing changes until he meets King Dorephan.

“You’ve done well to arrive here...” Dorephan’s eyes flick to his side, over the Sheikah Slate, and then dart back up to his face. Link shifts his stance, slightly, straightening his back and bringing his heels closer together. Dorephan inhales sharply. 

“Your Majesty-” His head tips in respect, before he looks back up and allows the barest ghost of a smile to cross his face as he finishes the sentence. “- Mipha’s Dad.”

Sidon’s jaw drops, a little. Dorephan looks stunned, before he grins and erupts into uproarious laughter. 

“Link!” Dorephan leans forwards, holding out a hand. Link takes one finger, which is all he can considering the sheer size difference. “The last time you said that, you were five.”

Link nods.

“Wait.” Sidon says. “You’re the Hylian Champion!”

“Did you not tell him?” Dorephan asks. 

Link shakes his head. “It’s a little unbelievable.”

Dorephan leans back, still smiling but now more subdued. “Yes. It is good to see you returned to us. From what I was told... you fell in combat, many years ago.” His eyes flick over Link, again. “And you haven’t aged a day, despite the hundred years between then and now. How is that possible?”

“The Shrine of Resurrection.” Link says, and Dorephan’s eyes widen before he lets out a sigh.

“You did truly fall, then...”

“I’m not... sure if I truly died.” Link prefers not to think about it at all, actually. “But I would be dead without it.”

King Dorephan nods, slowly. A few seconds pass in silence as Dorephan closes his eyes and rests his head against his throne. “I regret to ask this, but your timing is fortuitous, Link. Do you remember Vah Ruta?”

“About that...” Link begins.

Link explains.

“Zelda is alive?!” Dorephan exclaims.

“In Hyrule Castle.” Link frowns. “She has been trapped with Calamity all this time. Her power is the only thing that has held the beast back.”

Dorephan gives a considering hum. “All this time... And she has sent you to us. I am sorry to ask, but I must request you lend us your strength.”

Finally, Muzu can’t take it. He’s been silent so far, but this, then, is enough to break it. Muzu repeats much of what he said, last time. But...

“It is their fault-” Muzu begins-

“No.” Dorephan interrupts, sharply, and Muzu shrinks under the tone. “The blame lies solely and completely upon the Calamity.”

“Nobody wanted this.” Link said.

“Easy for you to say!” Muzu snaps. “You’re not the one who is dead!”

“Muzu-” Dorephan rumbled.

“Mipha was my friend too.” Link spoke, straightening. “Do you think I’m happy about this? I’m not. The last time I was in the Domain, Sidon came up to my thighs, his head fin dragged along the ground, and he was still terrified of diving from waterfalls.”

Muzu scowls. “And how would you know-”

“Mipha told him.” Sidon interrupted, and Muzu looked at the Prince. “I remember that. He and my sister... were often together.”

Muzu scowls, but directs a look to Dorephan, who nods.

“I’ll help with Vah Ruta.” Link says. “Not just for Zelda, but for Mipha, too.”

Dorephan smiles in thanks.

“And how do you intend to do that?” Muzu bites, only slightly less vitriolic than before.

Link turns towards the dam. His eyes trace the water that continues to spew upwards, and he looks up the mountain.

Shatterback Point is dark, against the rain, but still visible.

“I have a glider, now.” Link said, eyeing the ridge. “Shatterback Point has the right kind of angle for it. If I dove off, I’d be able to hit all four of the mechanisms that control Vah Ruta’s water generation in one volley.”

“That’s quite dangerous.” Sidon says.

“There’s another Lynel, there.” King Dorephan interjects. 

“Is it a red-mane like last time?” He asks. He already knows the answer, of course.

King Dorephan hums. It’s a deep noise, coming from the massive Zora. “Yes.” He agrees, slowly. “I do believe it is.”

Muzu shifts, uncomfortably.

“Mipha was with me the last time I went up there.” Link notes. “But I can handle a Lynel.”

“It is a long trip up.” Sidon said. “And in this rain, it would be very difficult for a Hylian to climb the rocks.”

“There’s a solution to that.” King Dorephan stated.

Dorephan retrieved something behind him, and held it out to Link. The Zora Armor was tiny, in his grip.

“To give him _that_!” Muzu growled. “My King, that is too much! It was intended for-”

“Yes.” Dorephan spoke. “And now, it reaches the one it was intended for. Put it on, Link.”

Link does so. The Champion Tunic and Hylian hood vanish into blue light, stored in the Slate. The Zora Armor slid over him smoothly.

“A perfect fit?” Muzu questioned, before turning confused eyes to Dorephan.

“I trust that you understand the implications of this?” Dorephan asked Link.

“She never told me... that she was making something like this.” He said. The White Heart Scale glittered in the light. After a moment, he looks up. “And there weren’t any Zora I knew with my build.”

“I was too young to understand, then, but I do, now.” Sidon said, slowly. “Mipha loved you. Truly. This armor is proof.”

Muzu slumps. “I...”

“Muzu.” Sidon turns to the elderly Zora. “We still need Shock Arrows. You can see with your own eyes Mipha’s feelings, so, please...”

Muzu sighs. “The Lynel.”

Link goes and kills a Lynel. Link comes back with scores of Shock Arrows.

Vah Ruta hides underwater, unfortunately, so the jumping-off-Shatterback-Point plan is a bust.

Everything else goes like last time, except Link is even more efficient about it.

“Mipha.” He says, just before she can give him her Grace yet again. “I... Do you have anything you want me to tell your family?”

Mipha smiles at him, sad and loving. “ _Tell them that I love them._ ”

Her smile tinges with something sharp, a moment later. “ _And tell Sidon I saw his last triple backflip._ ”

He’s in front of the Domain.

Sidon collapses to his knees, hunching over. It’s highly concerning, and the surrounding Zora stare blatantly.

“She _saw_?” Sidon whispers, horrified. “I’ll never be able to show my face again...”

“It must have been a very bad flop.” Dorephan observes, and Sidon lets out a sound that is either a deflating balloon, or his soul leaving his body.

Link awkwardly pats him on the back.

There’s a feast, like last time. Unlike last time, this time, Sidon gives him a hug that is bone-creakingly tight. Dorephan thanks Link, sincerely, for conveying Mipha’s words. Muzu apologizes, and begs his forgiveness. Link accepts.

Link goes to Akkala. 

Link does not go to Death Mountain, unlike last time. This time, he’s been to Faron, Necluda, Lanayru, and Akkala, and between them all, he’s found more than enough shrines. He goes around and past it, into Korok Forest.

The Master Sword comes free of its pedestal, and the Great Deku Tree yawns.

“You’re back.” The Deku Tree says, and Link nods. “It is good to see you again.”

“It’s been a while.” Link takes a seat. The Koroks swarm in, curious and playful and mischievous, and Link has to keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t run off with anything.

“One hundred years since that day...” The Deku Tree agrees. “You remember us, Link?”

“Yes.” Link says, and the Deku Tree smiles.

Three trials. The Master Sword shines brightly.

Death Mountain.

It doesn’t change too much. Neither Yunobu or Bludo know him, and neither have any reason to check his own memories. 

Vah Rudania. Fireblight. 

“ _Can you tell the youngster I’m proud of him?_ ” Daruk asks, and Link agrees without hesitation.

“I think I saw Daruk.” Yunobu says, afterwards. “He waved at me.”

“You did.” Link nods. “He’s proud of you.”

“You’re an amazing person, aren’t you, Link?”

Link goes to Tabantha. Rito Village.

Much the same could be said about Rito Village as Goron City. 

Vah Medoh. Windblight.

“ _There’s a target on the wrong angle._ ” Revali says.

Link raises an eyebrow. 

“ _Don’t look at me like that!_ ” Revali snaps. “ _It’s been annoying me for **years** , now. I set the range up to challenge my skills, not let it teach bad habits!_”

Link goes to Gerudo Desert.

He doesn’t actually make it into the desert itself before there’s a swirl of paper or laughter. The Yiga assassin is easily dealt with, but it reminds him about the whole sequence of events.

Link has arrived at the desert weeks earlier than he had last time. Link isn’t entirely sure _when_ the Thunder Helm had been stolen, last time, but it will be needed.

Link heads towards the hideout.

Barta the captive Gerudo is not there, but there are more than a few Yiga, and Link does end up acquiring the Helm regardless.

Link goes to the Bazaar, and then heads to Gerudo Town. 

“Sav’aaq, vator sas qou’vasa shivaka.” Link greets. It’s an older and more formal greeting than would be used in this day and age, and that catches Riju’s attention because not only is the Gerudo language not particularly well-known by outsiders, that particular greeting was even rarer.

“You’re no simple traveler, are you?” Riju’s eyes flick over Link. She stares at the Sheikah Slate for a moment, and then stares longer at the hilt of the Master Sword, peeking over his shoulder. Her eyes come then to his face, what little of it is visible through the Gerudo Veil, and she scans with intent curiosity.

“My name is Link.” He says. Riju’s eyebrows knit together a moment before she puts together the clues offered, and she leans forwards with delighted intrigue. “And I come to return something stolen from the Gerudo.”

Link takes one step. Fifteen paces is the respectful distance, and he reaches it as he kneels and presents the Thunder Helm.

Her expression doesn’t change, but only because she’s too shocked to realize it should be changing. Buliara tenses, but Link has been respectful, with greetings offered in their own tongue using words that are not taught to _outsiders_.

Buliara approaches, but Link doesn’t move. She takes the Thunder Helm, examines it, and then presents it to Riju.

She holds it up, and the Thunder Helm shines.

Her eyes flick back to him. “You must have _quite_ the story.”

“It’s a bit of a long one.” He warns.

Riju releases her guards, and she, Link, and Buliara head upstairs.

Link tells a story.

“And in the end, you found this, hidden by the Yiga.” She holds up the Thunder Helm.

“I’ve seen Urbosa wear it, once or twice.” He says. “It wasn’t hard to recognize. There’s nothing quite like it.”

“No.” Riju agrees. She examines it closely. “It truly can protect against Naboris’ lightning?”

“Urbosa’s, too.” He states. 

She directs a look at him. “I can’t be what you expected.”

“Riju.” He began. “I respected Urbosa greatly. I also once saw her challenge Daruk to a drinking contest, lose badly, ride a sand seal into a patch of voltfruit, declare war on cactus spines, claim to be the strongest Vai who ever lived, then headbutt a brick. The brick won.”

Riju stares at him, enraptured.

“You are doing _great_.” Link says. 

“You are my favorite person.” Riju declares with a smile.

Vah Naboris. Thunderblight.

“ _Of all the stories you could have given to encourage her..._ ” Urbosa looks away, face flushed. “ _Did it have to be **that** one?_”

“Would you have preferred the Molduga?” He asks.

Urbosa blanches. “ _I’d like at least some of my reputation intact. That one was fine._ ”

Kakariko. The plateau. The Divine Beast Tamer Trials. Maz Koshia. The Master Cycle Zero. The last of the shrines.

The Castle.

The library, where one of the bookshelves can be moved. The King’s private retreat. An old diary, filled with regrets and unspoken thoughts and intentions that were brought to an end through death before they could ever see the light of day.

Ganon.

Zelda.

She steps towards him, reaching out, and he takes her hand. His thumb rubs over her palm.

She sniffles, and Link draws her into a hug. His Tunic grows wet.

“I’ve missed you.” She says.

“I’ve missed you.” He says.

She giggles, and snorts, and it’s so far from the ladylike demeanour always forced upon her that he can’t help but chuckle. 

“It’s not funny.” She says, but she begins to laugh all the same.

Her eyes are red, but she’s smiling.

There’s a lot they both want to say. Sagas of words, meaningful and regal in their weight.

“I’m filthy.” Is what Zelda actually says. 

“You haven’t had a bath in a hundred years.” Link agrees, and she huffs.

“Don’t say it like that!”

“It’s true.” Link insists. “River is this way. You can wash up, and then we can head to Kakariko.”

“It’ll be freezing.” She replies.

He holds out a Flameblade.

“You’re absurd.” She tells him.

A half-day, and they’re at Kakariko. Even The rumbling roar of the Master Cycle’s machinery can’t wake her, it turns out.

One day.

Two.

Night of the third.

“Are you sure you want to stay? It will be quite cold.” Zelda asks, yawning.

“I think... I will stay awake a while longer.” He says. Zelda tilts her head at him, curious, and he shrugs, gesturing at the stars.

Her eyes soften. “Of course. There’s always tomorrow, after all.”

He smiles, nods, and definitely doesn’t show how those words freeze the blood in his veins.

“Good night, Link.” She leaves.

Link waits a while, and then checks the Sheikah Slate.

9:30.

Link looks at the stars. They are indeed quite beautiful.

10:30.

It’s calm. Pretty. Serene.

11:00

He forces himself to relax.

11:30.

He’s so tense he’ll be feeling it in the morning.

11:55

Nothing.

11:59

Then-

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

These are the words that begin a lengthy tale. 

It is a tale of a Hero, awoken, in a strange, ancient cave, with naught but a voice to guide him.

It is a tale of triumph. It is a tale of melancholy. It is a tale with an unfortunate beginning.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”, says the voice, and so the Hero does. He is so very terrified, in these early moments, and it is only thanks to the voice that he’s able to do anything at all.

He wakes, lying in a strange bed, blue liquid draining away from his body. He feels... not _weak_ , but certainly _drained_. The room is sealed, and appears to be fashioned entirely from black and brown stone. There is light, and it comes from the stone, pulsing with shining blue.

He stands, and he sees not too far away a pedestal. It glows with blue light, and Link moves over to it. As he approaches, the pedestal shifts, and offers up to him a strange, rectangular device, also glowing with blue light. Lines of orange light pulse their way across it.

“ _That is a Sheikah Slate. Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber._ ” The voice directs, and Link does so shortly. It takes only a moment before he’s able to activate it.

A series of columns shift, and rise into the ceiling. A passage, opened.

Link swallows.

“Zelda?” He asks, and there is a notable pause before the Princess responds.

“ _Do you know who I am, Link?_ ”

“Yes.” Link agrees.

“ _... Forgive me, but I must ask... Do you really remember me?_ ”

“Yes. Princess.”

There’s a brief pause. A noise, like she just took a breath. “ _I am... very glad to hear that._ ” She sighs in relief.

‘ _Oh._ ’ Link thinks. ‘ _Oh no._ ’


	3. Chapter 3

Link kneels at the statue of the Goddess. “Please!”

Link begs for guidance, but the Goddess only repeats her offer. Never any words other than those.

“At least a sign...” His head falls. He wants answers.

But, Zelda. Link can’t stay there forever, and Calamity needs to fall. Again.

Last time, clearly, hadn’t put an end to this. An exact repetition wouldn’t solve anything. Link goes to Kakariko, and then to Hateno, and then through Necluda and Faron.

He’s faster than either of the times before. 

Link does not go to Zora’s Domain. He goes to Akkala, and then Hyrule Field, and then to Korok Forest.

The Master Sword. Trials.

 _Then_ , Zora’s Domain.

“You arrived just in time.” King Dorephan says. “Any later, and it would have been a disaster.”

Link nods. He already knew. He’d made damn certain he would arrive before the problem boiled over into something disastrous.

Vah Ruta. 

“Mipha’s spirit still lingers.” He says to Dorephan. “I’d like to stay, but the other Champions need to be freed too.”

Dorephan nods, accepting that. He wishes Link well. Link leaves, even though he wants to stay, but he’s done this before and doing it yet again feels... wrong.

Death Mountain. Vah Rudania.

Rito Village. Vah Medoh.

Gerudo Town. Vah Naboris.

Divine Beast Tamer Trials. Maz Koshia. The shrines.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

One day.

“You went straight to her.” Zelda says, looking at the Master Sword. “Well- not _straight_ to her, because you went to shrines, first, but you went right to her after you had the strength to wield her. Was she calling for you?”

“No.” Link shakes his head, but pauses, afterwards, to amend that. “Or if she was, I couldn’t hear anything.”

He looks at her for a moment, before drawing the Master Sword. Zelda looks up at him, in curiosity, before he gestures to the blade again.

“Can you still hear her?”

Zelda’s lips purse as she considers the question. She reaches out with a hand, resting it upon the blade. “Are you still there?”

The Master Sword pulses, a wave of light running down the blade. Link hears... something oddly like the harmonic tones the Guardians occasionally make, but he can’t make out any words.

Or perhaps, it’s the Guardians that sound like it.

Zelda frowns. “I can’t- I could hear you before, but your voice is muffled to me, now. I’m sorry.”

Another pulsing wave of light.

“That’s not too surprising, I suppose.” Zelda thinks aloud. “After so much time with Calamity, it’s only natural that my powers have faded.”

She looks up to find Link staring at her. It’s an oddly intense gaze, and Zelda blushes under it. “Is something the matter?”

“No.” Link says, and looks away.

Is that the sign he’s asked for? Is that the answer? Zelda’s power has faded.

“There is nothing to be done about it, Link.” Zelda says.

For her?

No.

He’s gone back twice, now.

Does he just need to be quicker, so her powers drain less?

“Of course, Princess.”

If that was the case, then the Goddess could have just told him that.

Two days.

Three.

Then-

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Fourth time.

Link needs to be fast, apparently. So he is. He hurries. He stops taking the time to appreciate nature, stops gathering so much extra material that he doesn’t need.

Kakariko, Hateno, Necluda, Faron, Zora’s Domain, Akkala, Korok Forest, Death Mountain, Rito Village, Gerudo Town, Tamer Trials, Castle, Ganon, Zelda.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link tries again. Faster. Less sleep. He’s operated on worse, before. He’s the Hero, regardless, and he can take more than most people can. Staying awake for nights on end is... not ideal, but he gets used to it.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

There are a number of people who Link has helped. So much time that has been used, offering his assistance, finding materials, slaying monsters. He enjoyed it, to be honest. Helping people. A fairly common trait, for Heroes, but something he likes to think he’d do regardless.

Maybe... _Maybe_ some of the longer tasks could wait.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link talks to a few less people. Kilton is a strange person with useful items, but Link doesn’t need those, really. Finley can swim the Bank of Wishes herself. Sophia doesn’t need him proving his skill with shield surfing. 

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

The bandit, Misko, stole a series of relics and ancient items from the castle. Link had made a point of retrieving them, before, since they belonged to the Royal Family, and Zelda had been interested in more than a few of them. Some of them even proved useful for himself, but Link supposes he can always retrieve them later.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Tarrey Town is an endeavour that made him very, very happy. To see life and people flourish after the Calamity was a reward that filled his heart with joy, but it took... so long. So many people to convince, so many trees to cut down, so much time waiting for Hudson to actually build the new homes, and then the marriage...

Always later.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

He didn’t really need to go to _all_ the shrines, did he? Sure, he’d be at his best, but Ganon is a familiar opponent, by now, and he doesn’t _need_ it, so long as he was careful.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

He didn’t really need to go to _all_ the Fairy Fountains, did he? Their blessings and enchantments were useful, but he was skilled enough to not really _need_ them, right? He could always come around and get Kayasa, Mija, and Tera the Rupees they needed, afterwards.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

He didn’t really need to do the Tamer Trials, did he? The Master Cycle Zero was useful, certainly, and the strengthening of the Champion’s Gifts were the same, but he could get by without, surely?

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

“You’re as taciturn as ever.” King Dorephan comments.

“I’m sorry.” Link apologizes. He _is_ subdued, but this is the thirteenth loop, and he’s repeated heartfelt conversations so much that...

They’re not fake. They’re never _fake_. Goddess willing, they will never _be_ fake.

But they are beginning to feel less _real_.

Done, over and over again. The first time for them, but it’s adding up for him. It’s hurting, more and more, and so he’s becoming more... like he used to be.

Really, ‘subdued’ was... quite normal, back before the hundred years had passed. He had spoken so rarely, with so many expectations laid upon his shoulders when he was still so unprepared to deal with it. He’d needed to appear strong, so that people could rely upon him. Hiding his emotions and feelings was something he’d had a lot of practice in. 

And, honestly, nobody else needed to know... _this_. They’d be happier, not knowing about something they couldn’t help with anyway. If he succeeded, it wouldn’t matter, and if he didn’t-

If he didn’t, it still wouldn’t matter.

Two months.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link drops a set of shrines from the list.

One week less.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link drops even more shrines from the list. There’s no real need to go to Gerudo Highlands, or to Hebra. He feels sorry for Naydra, enchained upon the mountain by Malice, but he can free the Dragon afterwards.

Another week less.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link works out that he only needs twenty six shrines before his power is enough to recover the Master Sword, so long as the Divine Beasts are freed first.

Two weeks less.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link does not do the Trial of the Master Sword.

A few hours less.

It’s not much.

Every second is precious.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

There’s not a lot left that he can stop doing. He’s following the shortest and easiest paths he can think of. He’s on a schedule that would kill anybody that didn’t have a Hero’s endurance. He’s fought Calamity Ganon _seventeen_ times, and the sheer efficiency with which he now dispatches the monster is...

Something. Awe-inspiring? Horrific?

What else can he not do?

Do the Divine Beasts need to be freed beforehand? 

So much time is devoted to them. Travelling, preparing to travel, to their locations. The actual Divine Beasts themselves are not arduous to deal with, and the Blights by now die in less than a minute, each. The Champions are shocked at his skill, now with even Revali acknowledging it. 

But the Divine Beasts can’t just be ignored. Vah Ruta is a short-term danger to Zora’s Domain, and a much longer-term danger to all of Hyrule with the endless water it spills. Vah Rudania and Vah Naboris are lesser dangers, but the former still threatens everything in the vicinity of Death Mountain and the latter is slowly choking Gerudo Town with the sandstorm its presence stirs. Vah Medoh...

Vah Medoh usually has to be provoked. A danger mostly to the Rito that fly too high, rather than the land or its people.

If he was quick enough with Calamity, Vah Medoh could be freed afterwards. 

It would mean leaving Revali’s spirit alone, and while the thought leaves him feeling ill, it would let him save Zelda faster.

Ruta, Rudania, Naboris, Master Sword, castle.

Windblight materializes in the chamber, and while Link wasn’t _expecting_ that, he handles it regardless.

Ruta, Rudania, and Naboris all offer their assistance. Without Medoh, Calamity is less wounded, but Link has fought Calamity Ganon seventeen times now, and it changes nothing.

“You couldn’t wait?” Zelda asks. “Not... that I’m ungrateful, of course. I’m really quite happy.”

“I had to save you.” His voice is soft. Every time he goes back, it feels like it takes more and more effort to just... _speak_. “Quickly.”

She smiles, and shakes her head. “I could have held longer. Still, thank you, Link.”

She hugs him. 

He hugs back.

“It seems as though defeating Ganon freed Vah Medoh anyway.” Zelda notes, pulling away. 

Far in the distance, Vah Medoh’s silhouette rested atop the spire of Rito Village. 

“Good to know.” She says.

He agrees. It assuages the guilt of leaving Revali behind.

It still hurts.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

But still not enough for the Goddess, apparently.

Naboris can wait, certainly. Link wants to go there and settle Riju’s fears, return the Thunder Helm to its rightful place, but _Zelda_...

It can wait.

Ruta. Rudania. Master Sword. Ganon. Zelda.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Still not enough.

Gorons are a hardy people. Yunobu’s confidence can be built later.

Ruta. Master Sword. Ganon. Zelda.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Still not enough.

Sidon has family. He can apologize for all of his failures afterwards. 

He feels like throwing up.

Master Sword. Ganon. Zelda.

“You’re ridiculous.” Zelda informs him. “I’ve always been holding you back, haven’t I?”

“No!” His voice wavers. It’s not very loud, but still louder than he’s been in... several times. “I... couldn’t do this without you.”

She offers him a sad smile. “If I-”

“It isn’t worth thinking about.” He takes her hand.

Her mouth opens. Closes. 

“No.” She agrees. “No it is not.”

Three weeks of travel. That’s all it takes.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link, for a dark, terrible moment, just wants to lie there. The stone of the Shrine of Resurrection is uncomfortable but it’s better than this reality where he wakes up over and over and over and over again, and everybody meets him for the first time, over and over and over and over again. 

But, Zelda.

...

There’s only one thing left to leave behind. He’s already leaving behind the other Champions, his friends, and all the people of Hyrule that he’s met and who he wants to help but can’t because it would just take too much time.

Can he leave behind the Sword that’s bound to his very soul?

Link retrieves the sword. And then, doesn’t use it. 

“Why?” Zelda asks, staring at the hilt. 

Link opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.

He looks down, hides his face, and shrugs.

The Master Sword itself isn’t necessary.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

It takes real effort to pull himself from the bed of the shrine. His body feels heavy and slow, and Link...

Link isn’t sure how many more times he can take Zelda waking him up and not realizing that he’s done this before. That he’s saved her... what, twenty two times, now? That he’s fought and killed the beast that ended the world, over and over and over and over, and that he doesn’t know why the Goddess just _won’t let him stop_?

This will not, however, be the last time that Zelda wakes him.

This is not the time where he makes the attempt. This is the time where he _prepares_ to make the attempt. Link gets a few shrines, and then gets to _testing_.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link exits the Shrine of Resurrection feeling... He doesn’t even know what. Determination? Confidence? _Anything at all?_

He’s half in a trance as he greets King Rhoam. He doesn’t say much more than two or three word sentences, and barely even listens to what he’s saying at all. Link honestly couldn’t tell anybody what the King said, despite having a mostly one-sided conversation with him.

Link does the first shrine. Rhoam hands him the warm doublet. It’s faster to acquire that than it is to properly prepare the food he’d need to raise his body temperature for the higher areas of the plateau.

Link does the second shrine. He runs past the decayed Guardian, because that’s faster than fighting the thing, or climbing the walls to avoid it, so long as he rolls underneath the beam that traces its way after him.

Link does the third shrine. A boulder nearby is hit with Stasis, and Link climbs on to ride it up the cliff. He’s worked out the exact amount of force he needs to go far, but not far enough that the fall will hurt him.

Link does the fourth shrine, and then warps back to the plateau’s tower. Rhoam has already given him the paraglider, and Link, from the last time, knows what he’s looking for already. Link acquires an axe, cuts down a tree, and then drags the trunk over to a slightly hilly part of the plateau, then goes to acquire what he needs from the monster camps.

“Link...” King Rhoam begins, slowly, as he stares at the pile of explosive barrels that Link is piling up next to the tree trunk. “What are you doing?”

Link points at the castle.

Rhoam stares at it a bit, confused, before his head snaps towards Link. “It would be reckless-”

Link looks up. Whatever Rhoam sees in his eyes silences him in an instant. The King takes a step back as he sucks in a breath, a half aborted curse leaving his lips. “What in the name of Hylia-”

The trunk flashes golden. Link tosses a Sheikah Bomb of his own, and the barrels detonate with a thunderous rumble. Link runs through the dust, and grabs onto the trunk.

The Stasis breaks, and the trunk goes flying off at such a speed that it’s like being hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. Link wheezes and his vision blurs, but he holds tight because he’d been expecting it and he can’t fail here and _now_. 

The trunk won’t make it to the castle, but it will take him high enough that he can use the glider to get most of the way there.

Guardian beams flash, but Link has a pot lid, a traveller’s shield, and a few pieces of wood that used to belong to some Bokoblins. The Guardians die.

Monsters try to attack, but Link knows exactly where they are, where all the weapons in the castle are hidden, and, really, he’s been through so much worse than _them_. The monsters die.

Link enters the throne room with a tattered shirt, trousers that have ripped completely, a pile of weapons, and _desperate_ determination.

Ganon dies.

The fight blends with all the others. Moments after it’s over, and he can barely remember it. Zelda turns, slowly, from where she had banished Ganon, and stares at him where he’s kneeling on the ground. She’s giving him a look that combines confusion, happiness, delight, and the shine of intrigue she gets whenever she finds a new subject to research.

It’s been only a few hours since she woke him up. Most of it was set up, and Zelda saw everything.

“Link...” She opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again, pauses, closes it, and considers her words. She’s a scientist, a philosopher, a _scholar_ , the smartest person Link knows, with the royal upbringing that’s left her with a gift for expansive language. Link can see on her face the storm of thoughts that run through her mind.

There are no words for this, he clearly reads, so Zelda opens her mouth and simply says: “What?”

Link tries to breathe, but his throat is so tight that it feels like a golden Lynel is wringing his neck. 

_‘Goddess, please._ ’ He thinks. ‘ _Please let that be it._ ’

And no matter how good he is at hiding his emotions, something must slip through the cracks, because Zelda’s eyes fill with worry, and she takes a step-

Arms wrap around him. Warm.

Link collapses, and cries.


	4. Chapter 4

“A time loop.” Zelda says. “Oh, _Link_.”

He’s laying against her. It’s improper, and she’s the Princess, and he’s her knight, and he shouldn’t be burdening her with this, and Link feels so _empty_ at the moment that he just can’t _care_. Her fingers play with his hair, and her legs are warm against his back, and she cradles his head with infinite tenderness, and Link only barely registers that anything beyond the two of them in that field exists.

It’s the first time he hasn’t been tense in...

He’s not sure.

“You didn’t tell anyone, did you?” Zelda asks.

He didn’t. “What makes you think that?” He says, lowly.

“I’d like to think I know myself well enough to recognize that you haven’t been handling this well.” She said. “And that I would have tried to help you through it. But clearly, I haven’t.”

“But... I’m fine?” He blinks.

“No, Link. You’re not.” She brushes a strand of hair out of his face. “Physically, you’re fine, but mentally... You’ve cut out your support structures, dropped everything you enjoyed doing, and you’ve been trapped against your will in a situation that you can’t resolve, which nobody else can remember, without any help, while the stress builds up.”

Link used to be the Captain of the Royal Guard. He hadn’t held the position for very long, admittedly, since he spent most of his time as Zelda’s attendant and guardian, but he’s seen enough to know what she’s talking about. He’d helped more than a few of his own subordinates and soldiers that had experienced similar in the aftermath of the many battles with monsters that had intensified in the leadup to Calamity. 

“Oh.” He thinks back, remembering his actions and responses and how they had slowly ended up. “I was traumatized.”

“You still are.” Zelda says, gently. 

He feels hollow. Now, however, he realizes that yes, he probably _should_ be feeling something other than that.

“I want to help you.” Zelda says, looking him in the eyes. “But that’s going to be complicated if this happens again.”

“Do you think it will?” Link asks.

Zelda bites her lip, before breathing in, deeply. “I don’t think this is the Goddess’ doing, Link.”

Link blinks, again, slowly. “Hylia is the Goddess of Time.” He reminds her. Hylia is a Goddess of a lot of things, actually, but none so relevant as that. “Who else could do something like that?”

She goes to say something, but stops before she does, lips pursing. Link watches, still not feeling much of anything at all.

Zelda looks at the castle. “If you were Calamity...” She begins. “And you kept being defeated by a Hero... and you had ten thousand years to plan an escape... does cursing that Hero to repeat something over, and over, until they either break, or fail to defeat you, sound like something you would do?”

Ah. Horror isn’t what he wants to feel, but it’s better than the emptiness.

“That’s just a theory!” Zelda rushes to say. “There’s no indication that Calamity has the power to do that.”

“I don’t want to think it’s that.” Link says. “If it’s the Goddess, then there’s something I can do right to end it. If it’s the Calamity, then the only way it ends is if I do something wrong.”

Zelda frowns. “If it’s a curse from Calamity, my power might be able to do something about it.” Which would be remarkably convenient and therefore unlikely. “One thing I can’t put together is why you were so desperate to get here quickly.” She says.

“I thought I needed to.” Link said. “I thought that if I was fast enough, it would end.”

Zelda’s head tilts. “Why would you think that?”

Link stares up at the sky. “I asked for a sign. From the Goddess. The third time... I asked on the third time, and before it ended, you said that your power was fading.”

“What does that have to do with-” Zelda pauses, before her eyes widen and she sucks in a breath. “Goddess, _I_ did this to you?!”

Link startles. “What?”

“I did this to you.” She repeats, and he frowns at her. “Let me guess, I said that my power had faded, and then you got that thought into your head; the idea that if you were faster, I’d keep my power.”

He blinks, but nods.

“Oh...” Her arms wrap around him. “I am so sorry, Link...”

“But you didn’t do anything wrong?” He asks.

She pulls back, frowning. Her tongue darts over her lips. “Look at me, Link.”

His eyes meet hers.

“I need you to understand something. It’s been _one hundred years_ , Link. I held Calamity in check all that time. A few more months either way wouldn’t make much of a difference.” Zelda says, slowly and carefully so that Link has time to consider everything. “If my power faded, then my power faded from that century, and then the sealing of Calamity afterwards. It is certainly _not_ because of some - _imagined_ , I assure you- inadequacy on your part. _None of this is your fault_.”

He stares at her.

“Repeat that to me.” She says. “‘None of this is my fault’.”

“None of this is my fault.” Link echoes.

Zelda’s eyes close, and she nods with a sigh.

“Zelda?” He asks.

Her eyes open again, and Link is focused on her in a way he hasn’t been, until now.

“This isn’t your fault, either.” He says.

She huffs a laugh. “This isn’t my fault.” She echoes back at him, and he nods.

“We should probably get moving.” Link said, arm coming back to brace as he began to rise, but he’s stopped as Zelda’s hand presses against his chest. He looks up at her.

“I need you to promise me a few things before we get going.” She said. “Because if I don’t do it now, then I might never get the chance to again.”

“What is it?” Link asks.

“First.” She says. “That stunt you did today? As fascinating as that was, I need you to promise me you’ll never do it again.”

“It worked.”

“It did work.” Zelda agrees, because he’d killed the damned _Calamity_ in _hours_. “And you have no idea how much I want to investigate and study that, but if you had made even a single mistake, we would have lost you again.”

He twitches. It’s not quite a flinch, but he accepts her words.

“I _cannot_ -” She stresses the word. “- accept that. There is no need for you to hurry through these loops. I want you to take your time. I want you to gather your strength again, in the future, if this happens again. Be as fast as you like, but I _need_ you to do so _safely_.”

“I’ll be making you wait.” He murmurs. “With Calamity.”

“Then I will wait.” Zelda says. “You’re more important to me than a few extra months with that demon. It’s already been a hundred years, trust me when I say that I won’t even care. However, _you_ absolutely must do your best to live. Can you promise me that?”

He nods. “I promise.”

“Good.” She smiles, though it fades a moment later. “Which brings me to the second point. In the future, I need you to _tell me_ about them. I want to help you, and I can’t do that if you don’t let me know what you’re going through.” 

He goes silent, but Zelda doesn’t break off her stare. 

He sighs. “It will hurt you.”

“Not as much as it will hurt me to see you suffer and not know why.” She counters. “And you won’t be able to keep it a secret forever, even if you _did_ try to keep it from me, and that will hurt much more.”

“I...”

“You don’t deserve this.” Her eyes soften. “But at least if you tell me, you won’t be so alone.”

His eyes shut. “I promise.”

Zelda breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. Thank you.”

A few more seconds pass, before she lets go of him. 

“I need a bath.” She declares. “I’ve been wearing this filthy dress for the last hundred years. And you’ve probably heard that several times before, I now realize.”

“There’s a Flameblade in the ancient tree stump.” Link says. “Easiest way to get hot water.”

“So this is something you’re familiar with.” She notes. “That would be delightful.”

The only other set of new clothes Link has on hand is the warm doublet the King gave him.

“This is actually a new experience for me.” Link says, staring at the Sheikah Slate. “My old Royal Guard uniform is still around in the castle, but I didn’t grab it. I... don’t actually have any clothes for you to borrow.”

“The unanticipated problems of time looping and being too good at killing ancient demons.” Zelda wonders. “How novel.”

They head to Kakariko, and arrive sometime in the morning of the first day after.

“Excuse me.” Zelda smiles at Dorian and Cado, who look at the Sheikah Slate, Link, and then back at Zelda with naked shock on their faces. “Is Impa here?”

Impa is here. Zelda cries on seeing her. Impa soothingly pats her back, while surreptitiously sending Paya out to grab two spare sets of clothes from Claree’s shop.

Link changes first, then comes back. Zelda heads upstairs. 

“So, you just woke up, and you decided to run straight at the castle.” Impa comments to him. 

Link pauses, where he’s pouring tea, looks up, visibly considers the words, and then nods. “Yes.” He agrees. “Pretty much.”

“You are absurd.” Impa scoffs. “That was dangerous. That was reckless. Just because it worked is no reason to excuse that.” Her next words are soft and heartfelt. “Thank you.”

He nods.

“I have your old travelling set somewhere around here.” Impa informs Zelda as she comes down the stairs. “I’ve forgotten where they went, though.”

“My trousers?” Zelda asks, hopefully.

Impa smiles. “Of course.”

“I’m in no hurry to leave, I assure you.” Zelda says. “But I’ve missed them dearly.”

Impa’s smile becomes a smirk. “You always hated the skirts.”

“I hated a lot of things.” Zelda sniffs imperiously. “Like this filthy white dress.”

Zelda eyes the filthy white dress. It’s not as filthy as it was before, but it’s still bad.

“Burn it.” Link says.

“Link.” Impa says, chastising.

“That’s a wonderful idea.” Zelda smiles.

“Zelda!” Impa says, scandalized.

“I have been wearing this stupid filthy dress for _one hundred years_.” Zelda stress. “If I never see it again, it will be _too soon_. Link-” Zelda turns to him, only to find that he’s already presenting the Flameblade to her. “Thank you.”

Zelda takes the Flameblade and heads outside.

“You encourage her too much.” Impa directs a look at Link.

“She is the Princess, and I swore to assist her in all things.” He doesn’t apologize.

“That isn’t what the oath meant, and you know it.”

There’s a distant _fwoosh_ and a spot of laughter that Link has long since come to associate with Zelda burning the dress.

She comes back smiling. 

Impa sighs, but it’s good natured, while Paya stares on, wide-eyed and silent.

“How, exactly, did you get to the castle so quickly?” Impa finally asks, late in the night. “I can’t make sense of it. Did you happen to catch a horse?”

“If only.” Zelda yawns. “Do you remember the Stasis Rune on the Sheikah Slate?”

Impa pauses. “He didn’t.”

“He _did_.” Zelda says, with a breathy giggle. “It was so fascinating, Impa, you have _no idea_. Terrifying, but fascinating. I’ve never seen such a strategically precise application of a tree trunk and bombs.”

“It’s a wonder you didn’t kill yourself.” Impa tells Link.

“It was calculated.” Link denies. “And I made certain of it.”

Impa raises an eyebrow. Zelda hides a flinch.

The third day.

“So, midnight of the third day after?” Zelda confirms.

Link nods. 

“What determines the ‘third day’ part?” Zelda scribbles in a borrowed notebook. “Have you fought Calamity at midnight?”

Link nods, again. “Three midnights after the moment you banish it.” He elaborates. “I’ve fought him so that you banish him before midnight, and once it goes past, it counts as the first day.”

“Do you remember the exact time?”

“11:30.” 

“I sealed Ganon in the afternoon.” Zelda hums. “We arrived at Kakariko after the first midnight. We’ve spent a night here. Tonight, we find out if you go back. Ideally, nothing happens, and we all wake up tomorrow. More likely, you wake up in the Shrine of Resurrection, and the next loop starts.”

He nods.

“Alright.” Zelda says, shutting the book. “I’d like more scientific study to provide for evidence, but I also want to start ruling out possibilities. I’m staying awake with you until midnight.”

He nods, placidly.

Zelda sighs. “I can feel the presence of the Goddess waning.” She admits. “I should be able to draw upon a small amount of her power, though. If this is Calamity’s curse, then the power of the Goddess should do... _something_. I have no idea what could happen, so whatever _does_ happen, if you go back, it’s up to you to inform me of the results. Remember, even nothing happening at all is still a result we can use to narrow down the details.”

For the third time, he nods.

Zelda breathes in, then out. She smiles at Link.

11:55.

Zelda clasps her hands together, and prays. Golden light blossoms under her skin, radiant and beautiful. Not as strong as it was in the moment she sealed Calamity, but it’s divine power regardless.

Zelda takes his hand, and it’s a peculiar kind of warmth that banishes every hint of chill from his body but somehow never crosses that line into being too hot.

Link eyes the Sheikah Slate.

11:59:59.

12:00:00.

Link’s eyes widen, and he gasps.

12:00:01.

12:00:02.

12:00:03.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link opens his eyes.

He breathes in, and straightens up.

12:00:03.

This _was_ a curse. The Goddess’ light pushing it back was proof enough of that.

But the Goddess’ light had _pushed it back_.

He’s smiling.

When was the last time he’d smiled?

Irrelevant, because now he knows.

This thing, this curse, wasn’t omnipotent. Not invulnerable. There was a way to affect it, and that meant there’s a way to stop it.

There’s a way out.

They just have to find it.


	5. Chapter 5

“I need to tell you something, Princess.” He said. A long explanation follows. Zelda is not happy. 

“ _Look for any information you can find on curses._ ” Zelda says. He’s looking at the castle, and his fingers _itch_ as he stops himself from going there. “ _Anything you can find now will be useful later._ ”

“Yes, Princess.”

Link goes to Kakariko. 

“Curses?” Impa questions. “That’s an odd, and suspiciously specific, subject.”

“Do you know anything?” Link repeats.

“Not particularly, I’m afraid.” She directs a curious, piercing look at him. “Why?”

Link goes to shrug, which, he’s found, is one of the best ways to not have a conversation, but he’s able to stop himself before he can. “It’s a long story. I... would prefer not to explain.”

Her look is severe, but she nods.

Link goes to Hateno. 

“Curses?” Purah stares. “Like... _magic_ curses?”

“Are there are other kinds?” Link asks.

“Maybe?” Purah shakes her head. “I don’t know, Linky. My focuses were on Ancient Technology and the occasional bit of Sheikah arts, and I haven’t practiced the latter in... A while. A long while.”

“I see.”

“You should ask the Great Fairies if you want to know about magic stuff like that.” She comments.

Link goes back to Kakariko, feeling like an idiot.

“Curses?” Cotera rests her head on her knuckles. “Odd subject.”

“Can you help me?”

Cotera holds up a hand, wagging it left and right. “Yes? No? Mija would know more than I do. She dealt with things like that more than I did.”

Link goes to Zora’s Domain, and then up to Kaepora Pass.

“Curses?” Mija hums. “What sort? Physical transformation? Weakness? Coughing fits?”

“Forced time loops.”

Mija blinks at him. “Go find Kaysa, honey.”

Link goes to Tabantha.

“That’s...” Kaysa winces. “That is not an easy subject. Time is Hylia’s domain, and magic that could do something like that is complex, powerful, and always, _always_ tricky.”

Link says nothing, and maybe Kaysa can read that from him, because she leans closer and looks him up and down.

“Curses like that are hard to make in this day and age.” Kaysa says. “Magic is a lot less... Hmm... variable? Magic like that doesn’t really exist anymore, you know.”

Link tilts his head to the side. He does not, in fact, know.

“Take a seat.” Kaysa says. “We’re going to be here for a while.”

Link nods.

“In the old days-” Kaysa began. “- and I mean the really old days, back before those huge things were built by the Sheikah-” She gestures up at Vah Medoh, perched above Rito Village. “- magic was different.”

Kaysa sighs. “You know, I’m not sure how to describe it. Magic back then was... _freeform_. It was... a force that could be drawn upon. It was born of the Golden Goddesses, and those with the Wisdom, the Power, and the Courage could bring change with it.” Kaysa slumped. “But that was back then. These days, that old, freeform magic is pretty rare. With a few exceptions of magical beings, it’s almost nonexistent, actually. Magic... Magic has long since seeped into the world and become a part of it. It’s a rarer thing, now, but more... _innate_. In beings, it’s born from a person, reflecting them. It condenses in gems, aligning with elements. It exists in nature, waiting to be utilized.”

“Exceptions?” Link asks.

“Fairies.” Kaysa says. “Spirits. Blupees. Satori. The Deku Tree. Koroks. Things like that.” She grimaces. “Lynels, too, but that’s only on a technicality!”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Lynels are monsters.” She says. “Magic or not. Wizzrobes are the same. They’re beings of darkness. Servants of Calamity. They don’t... _belong_. They don’t _fit_.”

“What do you mean?” Zelda would be so interested in this. Sure, Ancient Technology was more her intrigue, but hearing how magic itself had changed would have captivated her endlessly.

“Us Fairies, and a legion of other spirits, were appointed by the Golden Goddesses-” Kaysa pauses a moment to glance at him. “You do know the Golden Goddesses, right?”

Link nods. Not many did, but Zelda’s research into Hylia, and how she might unlock her own powers, had been shared with him often enough that he picked it up.

“Hylia is more well known, but it’s good to see they haven’t been forgotten completely.” Kaysa says. “Anyway, the Golden Goddesses left Hylia to ensure prosperity of Hyrule, and we Fairies and spirits were to help her. Now, that’s easily said, but what it actually _means_ is very complex, so I will have to summarise by saying that the Fairies and Spirits live in symbiosis with the world. We enrich it, balance it, maintain it, and so it does the same for us. Just existing lets the energies of the world flow properly, but the _real_ effect comes when travellers like yourself come and bring us offerings.”

“That’s why you need Rupees?”

Kaysa nods. “Rupees are a special kind of gem. Fairly common, but they can hold the purified energy of magic in them. Every person who picks one up adds a little bit extra energy, and also an impression of... existence, I guess? It’s hard to explain in mortal terms. Nothing harmful, but it’s useful to us. Enough Rupees, and we can quickly recover lost power, which is good for us, because we stop being in danger of fading, good for the world, because we can use that power to enrich it, and good for the travellers, because we can grant them blessings. All three lead into one another, actually. When we give out blessings, there’s a... well, we’ll call it a ‘byproduct’, but it’s that ‘byproduct’ that we can use to enrich the energies of the world.”

“I’m helping you by getting enchantments for my clothes?” Link asks.

“To be completely honest? You’re probably helping us more than you’re helping yourself.” Kaysa shrugged. “It’s nothing immediately noticeable, but in a few years? This Fountain will be _blooming_ with life. My territory extends through most of the Gerudo Highlands to Hebra, and that entire section of the land is going to get a bit more lush because of you. It’ll take a while, but it’ll be measurable.”

That was interesting to know. “Territory?” 

“My sisters and I can all spread power across different parts of the land. I have most of the western and northern parts of Hyrule. Cotera has most of the central field and a bit of Faron. Mija manages from Death Mountain to Necluda. Tera does the desert, and a large portion of the beaches.” She stretches. “Satori isn’t a Fairy, but he contributes in his own way. The Bluepees, his lesser spirits, have a tendency to find and redistribute stray Rupees so travellers can use them. That’s how he helps. The Korok Forest belongs to the Deku Tree, of course, and the Koroks themselves build and release energy through their pranks and mischief, not to mention making items and creating inventories.”

Link probably should have been writing this down. Zelda would dearly regret missing this.

“The Dragons are their own thing.” Kaysa continues. “They’re true Divine Spirits. Not... _quite_ Deities, on their own, but their power rebuilds itself. Pieces of their bodies just regrow, and they fly around, waiting for the worthy to take them. It helps them a bit, actually, since if they go too long between it their bodies can get... stiff. When that happens, they need to either scrape it off, or get somebody else to knock it loose.”

Her happy expression drops, a bit. “And then there’s Malanya. Malanya is a true Deity, though a minor one. His power over horses can only be contested by other Deities. Calamity too, I suppose...”

She frowns. “Which reminds me why I was talking about this to begin with. Curses? The kind you’re describing can only be created with that older magic. Of all beings in this age, Calamity is the only thing I can think of that still wields that older magic. And, Calamity? That demon is a lot older than us. A lot more powerful, too. This happens at midnight, you said?”

Link nods. 

“Calamity’s power is strongest at night.” Kaysa says, sadly. “Hylia is a Goddess of Light. She opposes him, and his influence wanes under the light of the sun. It makes sense, then, that this happens at midnight, the point farthest from when light will shine upon the world again. The problem, however, is that whatever’s making you repeat this? It doesn’t sound like an actual Curse.”

He pauses. “I think it sounds like a curse.”

“Oh, it’s awful.” Kaysa nods, agreeing. “Absolutely terrible. Just like a curse. But not like a _Curse_.” She stresses the word. “Most Curses? They’re... _gradual_. Transformative. Weakening. Unpredictable. You can Curse someone to be struck by lightning once a day, for example, but you can’t Curse someone to be struck by lightning at the same time every day under the same circumstances every day. You can Curse someone to feel pain, but not Curse them with instant death. You can Curse someone to be reborn, but there won’t be any degree of regularity about it. Another thing about Curses is that they’re almost always sustained by those who created them. If you’re defeating Calamity, then he shouldn’t be able to sustain a curse. What’s doing this to you doesn’t sound like a Curse. It sounds like a spell.”

“Is there that much of a difference?” Link asked.

“Hmm.” Kaysa considered. “From a practical, and relevant to you, standpoint, breaking a curse is easier than countering a spell.” She sighed. “With that said, though? Spells aren’t meant to stick around. Curses aren’t meant to be instant, and spells shouldn’t linger very long.”

“Could Calamity be casting a spell each time?”

“I doubt it.” Kaysa shook her head. “Magic like that is _noticeable_. Unmistakeable. And there’s no way to cast something like that in that situation without Hylia noticing and putting a stop to it. Time _is_ Her domain, and allowing Demonic Magic to influence it like this wouldn’t be something She would do. This would _have_ to be subtle, prepared beforehand, in order to slip beneath Her notice. Calamity must also be using his power to obscure her Sight, too, otherwise she’d be able to reach into these loops and aid you.”

Link frowns. “I can still hear Hylia’s voice when I pray at the statues. Shouldn’t she know from that?”

“That’s not Hylia.” Kaysa says, and Link’s head snaps up to her. “Well- it _is_ Hylia, but... Ugh.” She groans. “Mortals don’t have the language for this.” She complains. “That voice is Hylia, yes, but it’s... a fragment of Her? It’s a small part of Her being that’s... _mostly_ separated from the rest of the whole.” She shrugs. “Kind of. That portion gives blessings and helps you, but that portion isn’t really... conscious, I guess? Most of Hylia’s being exists within Zelda, and the Royal Bloodline. Zelda is the vessel through which most of Hylia’s strength can be expressed.”

“Her power is weakening.” Link considers.

“That’s normal.” Kaysa shrugs. “Calamity is an old opponent. It’s been around for almost as long as Hylia herself. It’s not much younger than your own Spirit, you know. They fight, Hylia wins, Calamity is banished, Hylia rests to recover her strength, Calamity comes back, repeat. That last battle was an odd one, actually. Calamity got hit so hard it stayed down for _ten thousand years_.” She laughed, though it turned a wince a moment later. “Of course... Ten thousand years is a long time to plan.”

He nods. They’re both fully aware of that.

“And there I go, off on a tangent again.” Kaysa shakes her head. “If you want, I could give you an in-depth examination. It... probably _won’t_ help much, actually, since anything that can hide from Hylia is more than capable of hiding from me, but why not cover your bases, right?”

Why not indeed. Link nods.

She rises, grinning, and Link has a moment to think ‘ _Oh, this again._ ’ before she grabs him, hugs him close, and they both vanish into the water.

Link doesn’t know how much time passes. It’s an eternity and an instant, everything and nothing. All he hears is giggles and laughter, and the world is pink. Kaysa is smiling, and the smile shows _teeth_.

When it’s over, Link can’t say, but Kaysa sets his limp body down on the flower, and Link...

Link feels...

Pampered.

“Couldn’t find anything from Calamity, but you do have the magic of another within you.” She says, curious. “A _strong_ kind of healing.”

“Mipha’s Grace.” He answers.

Kaysa smiles. “It takes a very strong will-” Kaysa’s finger tapped against his chest. “- and a _very_ kind heart to birth that kind of magic.” She pulls back. “Aside from that, though, the only magic I can find is your own. You’ve got a rare sort, yourself, but I’m sure you understand that already since we just had this conversation about time manipulation.” She looks at him. “It might even prove more useful, if you could develop it further. The problem is that you’re looping, after all, so having some command of time could only be helpful.”

“I have no idea where to even begin with that.” Link admits.

“I only have a small clue, myself.” Kaysa says. “As much as I’ve learned in my time, it’s the Deku Tree that you Heroes usually confide in. There’s a chance, though a small one, that he can help you.”

“Thank you, Kaysa.”

“Come back any time, boy.”

Link goes to Korok Forest.

“That’s a troublesome situation you’ve found yourself in.” The Deku Tree comments.

Link is seated on the Master Sword’s pedestal, the blade itself in his lap. It feels good to have it back, like he has an old friend to share his burdens with.

“It... _does_ sound familiar, however.” The Deku Tree admits. 

“Familiar?” Link asks. “Somebody else went through this?”

“Perhaps.” The Deku Tree lets out a considering hum. “It would have been a long time ago. Much like the Spirit of the Hero, I also reincarnate. However, where the Spirit of the Hero reincarnates whenever it is needed, I am renewed periodically. Not quite the same being as I was before, but similar enough. I do maintain some memory of my older selves...”

The Deku Tree lapsed into silence. Link waited, patiently, as the Deku Tree recalled his ancient memories.

“It was during the era of the Hero of Time.” The Deku Tree finally says. “He searched for a friend, but somehow became trapped in another land. That land... I do not recall the name of it, but it was caught in a cycle of destruction brought forth by a Demon. He told me that he escaped, eventually, but that he lived a period of three days many times over. His situation was not the same as yours, but I wish it brings you some hope.”

“A little.” Link says. Knowing that other, past incarnations have managed to escape something similar is good.

“The Hero of Time used the Ocarina of Time.” The Deku Tree continued, after a few moments. “I do not know what became of it. I do not believe you will be able to find it, either. Still, with the help of the Great Fairies, you might be able to strengthen your own temporal magic, and force Calamity’s magic to fail.”

“How can they help?” Link asked.

“Many of your previous incarnations possessed the ability to wield magic.” The Deku Tree replied. “The Great Fairies are among the few beings who could expose you to purified magic. It will likely take some experimentation, and no small amount of time, but the Spirit of the Hero existed before magic started merging with the land. With luck, you’ll be able to uncover that power, again.” There was a brief pause, before he added one last thing. “You’ll need a large supply of Rupees. And probably some Diamonds, as well.”

Of course. “Thank you.”

Link goes back to Tabantha.

“Well, I can see where he’s coming from.” Kaysa hums. “Rupees for the magical energy, and Diamonds because they’re magically associated with purity. I should be able to keep a bit of raw magic energy pure for at least a little while, with that. If you’re exposed to that, then the Spirit of the Hero should absorb... Hmm.” Her lips pursed, and she stared intently at him. “I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet, though. Find Tera, if you can, and give me a few weeks to practice.”

“Do you need anything else for it?”

She looked him up and down. “How many Rupees do you have?”

Link left for Gerudo Desert, twenty thousand Rupees and two diamonds lighter.

Three weeks later, Link had freed the other Divine Beasts, acquired a house, scoured Necluda and Faron, freed Naydra, completed the Tamer Trials, and donated enough supplies that Tarrey Town only waited for its inhabitants to arrive.

Link began to realize that he was not, in fact, good at wasting time.

Nevertheless, he went back to Kaysa.

“I’m fairly certain I’ve got it down.” Kaysa smiled. “This will work better the more materials you can give me.”

“Is there an upper limit?” He asks.

Kaysa shakes her head. “At least five diamonds, and probably thirty thousand Rupees. More is better but not necessary. Probably. I’ll need the diamonds first, and after this starts, you just have to pour Rupees in. Alright with that?”

Link hands her thirteen diamonds. Kaysa raises an eyebrow.

“Alright. I’m going to give you a warning, now.” She says, suddenly serious. “Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed. Are you sure you want to try this?”

“Are the consequences worse than fighting Calamity twenty three times?” He asks.

Kaysa raises a finger. Lowers it. “You know what? That’s a good point.”

She takes the diamonds, holding them between her hands, and blows a pinkish mist upon them. Her hands close, and she rolls her palms in a circle, before opening them in a cupping gesture. A pool of shimmering white unveils itself to Link.

Link holds his Sheikah Slate out, turns it upside down, and presses his thumb against the screen. Immediately, a veritable waterfall of green, red, blue, purple, silver, and gold pours out, the glittering gems falling in and vanishing into the liquid.

After five seconds, Kaysa glances up at Link, before looking back down.

After another five, Kaysa raises an eyebrow.

After another five, Kaysa’s head tilts to the side.

After another five, Kaysa’s smile has been frozen in place.

“How many Rupees did you say you had?” She asks, slowly, as what must have been a significant portion of Hyrule’s wealth continued to pour and pour and pour and _pour_.

“I sold most of the other gems I found.” Link said. “In the end, it totalled... three or four hundred thousand?”

Kaysa blinks. The Rupees stop pouring. Entirely on automatic, she closes her hands, and begins to roll her palms again.

“Huh.” She says. Her hands open, and reveal a small, tiny orb that glowed like the sun. “Well.” She rolls it between her fingers. “What’s the worst that could happen?” She asks, before flicking it at him.

The flash of light, as travellers will spend the next week commenting, could be seen from Hebra to Faron. Those who had been looking at the sky at that moment saw as every cloud in the sky lit up. It is said that even the swirling shadow of Calamity turned to face the source.

Link wakes up a few hours later, and feels distinctly _different_. There’s a pulse and a _thrum_ in his ears. There’s a scent he’s never known before on the wind. He can see colours that he’s only ever seen after Zelda mistakenly fed him the wrong kind of mushroom, once.

“Most of that went to waste.” Kaysa says. There’s an ethereal quality to her voice that he realizes has been there all along, that he’s never heard before. The entire Fairy Fountain is glowing, and there are plants that look years old but weren’t there a few hours ago. “By which I mean, not into you.”

“I feel pretty good.” He says. 

“That’s surprising.” Kaysa hums. “I just flicked enough magic to melt a mountain at you.”

Link sits up. He looks at Kaysa. The Great Fairy’s skin shines with markings that he can only now see. Lines of light stretch through her, reaching into the pond below, which then spread out underneath the earth, running up into trees, and rocks, and a thousand other little things, like the veritable _horde_ of Fairies that now surround the Fountain.

“Getting a good view?” Kaysa smiles lecherously, and Link blushes as he averts his gaze.

His eyes fall on the mountain behind him. He sucks in a breath.

Until that very instant, he hadn’t realized how _blessed_ he’d been to not be able to see magic.

Malice, before, was an unnatural, disgusting thing, deeply revolting on a level he couldn’t understand. 

Malice, now... Now he understands. It’s _vile_ , a mass of power and _hate hate hate_ , seeping into the worlds and _infecting_ it, growing like some kind of tumour as it sucks the life out of everything nearby. Looking at it makes him want to burn it. It makes him want to take the Master Sword and _sever this awful thing from the world_ -

“Horrific, isn’t it?” Kaysa says, and Link snaps his attention back to her. 

She looks at him, sadly. Her eyes drift up, to that thing behind him, before coming back down. “Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed.” She repeats. 

Link breathes out. Twenty three times he’s killed the demon, and now, somehow, it doesn’t seem enough.

And, _Goddess_ , that’s just some stray Malice. What does the _castle_ look like? Calamity itself?

“Best not to dwell on it.” Kaysa says. “You have more important things to think about, after all.”

Link swallows. “Magic.”

“Yes.” Kaysa looks at him. “Most of it, wasted. But you did absorb a small portion. From what I can see, some of that went into your own, natural time magic, while the rest... appears to have settled into your soul.”

“Is that bad?” He asks.

“It’s probably a good thing.” She shrugged. “Magic and souls are closely intertwined. Or, at least, they used to be. If you’re lucky, you might be able to learn some other types of magic. If not... well, it can’t hurt. Regardless, that isn’t what you need, so stand up.”

Link does. 

“How do you _normally_ use your magic?” Kaysa asks. 

“In the air?” Link says. “After a dodge, too. I can aim and shoot arrows quicker, with the former, and get in a lot of strikes, with the latter.”

Kaysa nods. “I want you to concentrate on the feeling of it. What you need to build towards is strengthening that magic. Not just how long you can hold it, but also when and how you can activate it. If you can speed yourself up in the air, then figure out how to do it on the ground. Work out how to make yourself faster so you can always strike more often, rather than just after a dodge. Eventually, you’ll figure out how to grasp that magical energy that’s in your soul and augment your magic further.You’ll need a lot of practice, no doubt.”

“I have time.” Link says.

“Yes. You do.” Kaysa nods. 

Link does not get it that day. Link doesn’t even get it that week. He’s on the second last Ancient shrine before he’s able to accomplish even a small portion of what he’s trying to do.

Link finishes the shrines. He delays a bit longer, helping the people of Hyrule, before the urge to go to the castle overwhelms him.

Ganon. Link is better than ever. He moves with speed that he never could, before, in a world that slows down at his will. It’s draining. Ganon dies. 

“We’re going to have to make this a control timeline.” Zelda chews on her lip. “Seeing what happens when my power isn’t used, and you don’t use your new magic to do... anything.”

Link nods.

“If we’re lucky-” Zelda continues. “- then the Goddess’ power having pushed it back last time will have an effect this time. If it’s a permanent effect, or something that persists even slightly through time loops, then maybe using the Goddess’ power repeatedly will break it. If not... we’ll need another solution.”

Link nods.

“I hope it’s the first case.” She tells him, and then gives him a hug. 

11:59.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Well.

That’s unfortunate. 

Link gets up. “I need to tell you something, Zelda.” He says, and just like last time, she’s not happy.

But they’re gathering data, and that means they’re getting closer.

The doors open, and magic slams into him like a near-physical _wall_. Colours unseen. Sounds unheard. Scents unknown. The curious _lack_ of that deep, soothing _thrum_.

‘ _Huh._ ’ He thinks. ‘ _That stuck around?_ ’


	6. Chapter 6

“ _You just added an entirely new set of variables to this._ ” Zelda informs. “ _I’m happy for you, but I must say that as a scientist, I hate that. On the other hand, I don’t remember those variables not existing in the first place, so I guess I can forgive it._ ”

Link honestly can’t help his smile.

“ _Write down **everything**._” She demands. “ _Get as much of a handle on this as you can. Take a look at other magical items, if you can. It might help you._ ”

Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection. 

The King, to his new sight, is a mass of teal flame barely contained in the skin of a man. It’s not unsettling, somehow. Despite his ghostly status, he doesn’t comment on anything other than his happiness at Link’s memory not being a scattered mess. Being a ghost apparently does not automatically come with magical ghost senses.

Zelda would be so proud of how scientific he’s being.

Link goes to the other shrines.

He didn’t really think about it, before, but the shrines are peculiar to his new sight by all the ways they _aren’t_ different. They look exactly the same to him now as they did before. All the magic in the world also fails to penetrate into the shrines, and even the platforms that float unsupported in the air over a vast abyss still seem only like Sheikah materials. Whatever force or power keeps them existing, keeps them moving, isn’t something he can sense.

Vindication for Zelda, he supposes. Zelda, and all the other researchers, who always declared Ancient Technology ‘not-magic’ despite its magic-like capabilities. Is there a difference? Is it actually magic, just not something he can sense?

The lack of magic in the shrines, however, just makes his own more noticeable to him. His time magic is still enhanced, though his drained state presents a greater difficulty in using it. That other pool of magic in his soul is still there, too, unchanged as far as he can tell. If the power is in his soul, does that mean his soul is being sent back, rather than just memories?

The sole exception to the lack of magic is the Spirit Orbs the Monks give him. The Monks themselves, he feels nothing from, but the Spirit Orbs...

They’re a strange thing. The feeling they give to him now is oddly reminiscent of Zelda’s golden power. The Goddess Emblem that appears on them tells him that’s probably not a coincidence, though.

The Paraglider the King gives him glows with teal flames, but not in the same way the King does. The King feels like a spirit that’s taken form, while the Paraglider feels like something physical that’s become spiritual. Had the King actually constructed it?

Link goes to Kakariko. Impa doesn’t seem to notice anything different, but he also has no reason to show off in front of her, so...

Link goes to Cotera. He’s just turning the corner when he comes face-to-face with a pile of Blupees.

They’re normally skittish creatures. Once they know he’s there, they’ll dash off in an instant.

Ten of them bounce around him curiously. Magic, apparently, can catch even their attention. Link stands there while the small little spirits investigate him, and after a few minutes, one of them offers him a Rupee. When he takes it, they all dash off, vanishing into thin air.

Link continues to Cotera.

“And how did _this_ happen?” Cotera pokes at him.

“It involves time loops.” Link tries to say, though it comes out as “Mivols timmoops”, since she pinches his cheeks between two fingers and moves his head around to examine him even more closely. 

He will have to find a way to avoid this, in the future. As it is, it takes more than half an hour before she finally lets him go and he can actually explain.

“Learning to control magic?” Cotera hums. “Sorry, but I don’t think I can help with that. It’s not something I’ve ever needed to think about doing.”

“Thank you anyway.” Link nods.

Link goes to Hateno. Purah also doesn’t notice anything different. The blue flames of the Ancient Furnace are distinctly not normal, but much like everything else Ancient, also aren’t magic. 

Link acquires magical items. Flameblades, Iceblades, Thunderblades. All three elemental weapons are intriguing to look at. Elemental energies, stored within, that release slowly. How had they been forged?

Link goes to Faron.

Malanya is a God, but there’s worlds of difference between him and Hylia. The latter, he only feels through her statues and shrines, but if both were songs, they’d share only a single note. Malanya, unfortunately, also cannot help him with magic, though Link isn’t too surprised by that.

Link goes to Zora’s Domain. The Zora themselves feel... _watery_. They have the same feeling about them as Opal gemstones. The power of water, written into their very beings. 

Vah Ruta is curious. Link can _feel_ the Malice that infects Vah Ruta, and Link can also feel that distinct light of kindness that is Mipha. Vah Ruta itself is an absence of presence, but both Mipha and Waterblight have tendrils that reach into the Divine Beast.

Link kills Waterblight with prejudice. The links of Mipha’s soul to Vah Ruta pulse in a way that he can feel, and Vah Ruta must contain some mechanism that does the same, because the Divine Beast responds to Mipha’s will. He can’t feel Vah Ruta poking back, but it _must_ be, because Link can still sense the connection being prodded... seemingly by nothing at all.

How _do_ these Divine Beasts truly function? How had the Ancient Sheikah done whatever this was?

“ _Ruta?_ ” Mipha asks. “ _She is definitely alive, Link._ ”

Link goes to Tabantha.

“Should I try to repeat it?” He asks Kaysa.

Kaysa ‘um’s and ‘ah’s and ‘hmm’s to herself for the better part of an hour. “Probably best not to.” She ultimately decides. “Not without a lot more planning, anyway. Being a Hero is an amazing thing, but if you keep shoving magic into yourself like that, you’re going to burst. Try nurturing what you already have, instead.”

Link goes to Lanayru. Naydra is impressive in a mundane gaze, and awe-inspiring with this magical one. A part of Naydra feels similar to Hylia and Malanya, though Naydra feels... _lesser_ , in comparison. That common element must be Divinity, or something like it.

Link goes looking for other magical items. It’s been a while since he retrieved the treasures stolen from the castle, but not so long that he’s completely forgotten their general areas.

The Phantom Set is named for the mythological Phantoms they supposedly resemble. They have a distinctly _ghostly_ feel, reminiscent of the King and the Champions more than than the Spirits and Fairies, and so there is perhaps some truth to those rumours.

Both the Pink Merchant’s Hood and the Blue Lobster Shirt have magic in them. Both feel old in a way he can’t quite describe.

In a similar fashion, both stone helmets that came from the Age of Twilight are old. The one that was supposed to belong to the so-called Usurper King felt... _crueler_ than the other, though neither held too much power now.

The supposed Fairy clothes, whatever they are, are just entirely disconcerting, though otherwise not particularly special.

The last two, though... 

The Dark Armour set is precisely that. Dark. Evil. It smells faintly of Malice, and Link feels the urge to shatter it into a thousand pieces. Ultimately, though, it isn’t true Malice, and if nothing else, Zelda might find some use after studying it.

Then there’s the Mask.

He’s seen it, before. Picked it up, before. Used it a few times, before. There’s not a lot of power left in it, anymore, but the only malice greater than it is Malice itself. With the evil it radiates, it’s no wonder that Monsters could so easily mistake him for being one of them. He feels a revulsion to it now that he never felt before, but dearly wishes he did. Some things don’t deserve to see the light of day again. 

But this belongs to the Royal Family, and Link will wait until he can convince Zelda to burn it with holy fire to be rid of it.

Link continues.

In Korok Forest, Link finally hears that comforting _thrum_. It comes from the Master Sword itself, and the tone changes _ever so slightly_ as he draws the blade. There’s a presence in the blade, and he’s always known that, but it’s only now that, after losing it and gaining it again, that he _feels_ that. The presence of the Master Sword fits together so closely with his own that he doesn’t have the words to describe it.

Zelda probably would. She’s the scholar.

But he’s Link, and while taking up the Master Sword has always felt right, now it feels like reclaiming a piece of his soul.

The Koroks are much like the Blupees and the Fairies, with how they react to him and his magic. So intrigued, and they try to show him how they do things, floating around, waving sticks, and popping in and out of existence with puffs of smoke.

“Space.” The Deku Tree states. “It is a key element of nature. Time is a picture in motion. Space is the canvas upon which it is drawn.”

Link, somewhat belatedly, asks for advice. 

“To harness the pure magic within you...” The Deku Tree considers. “I am uncertain. I have met many who use it. I have not asked how they do so. For me, it is a product of will. For Fairies, it is much the same. Do not despair. It is a talent that can take years to flourish.”

Years, the Deku Tree says. Well, he certainly had the time, didn’t he?

Link continues. 

The more time passes, the easier it gets to use his magic. Time stretches longer and longer as he pushes himself faster and faster. It’s far from necessary in his battles.

It might have been more useful if he acquired it earlier. Even Thunderblight, by far the fastest abomination he’s fought, cannot pose a threat. Link is simply so used to fighting it that it just doesn’t matter.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t use it.

Urbosa comments that even she couldn’t keep up with his speed. Coming from the Bladedancer, it’s a great compliment indeed.

Link starts the Tamer Trial. His hand closes around the hilt of the One-Hit Obliterator. Link can feel his life drain away into it. Something happens to his lifeforce as it flows, twisting and changing, up the hilt, before it vanishes into the Ancient nothingness, and the Obliterator lights up blue. Somehow, it _still_ isn’t magic. Link has never been so skeptical, but the evidence has been consistent, and he can practically hear Zelda going on about the scientific process and how evidence shouldn’t be discarded, and _Link, that’s how it works-_

It brings him right to the edge of death, as it always does. Something within him shifts, and then Link is paying no attention to it whatsoever.

The pure magic of his soul reacted, slightly. Link flounders, concentrating on that feeling, barely even breathing.

 _Move_ , Link wishes. _Move_ , Link wills. The pure magic shifts, just a bit.

Months, and finally, _progress_.

Link hurries to complete the first portion of the Tamer Trials. Then he heads to Tabantha, and meditates with Kaysa.

Eight hours of effort later, and he’s finally able to push it with some consistency. Kaysa claps in cheer.

“Try concentrating it in your hands.” She says. 

That takes Link another four hours of effort. He feels sore, and heavy, and his head is pounding, for all that he’s done nothing other than sit there, staring at his hands. 

In the end, though, his hands shimmer with waves of white light beneath his skin.

“Work on that.” Kaysa instructs. “Summon it quicker. When you can do it in a few seconds, try to push it out of your body. Baby steps.”

Link completes the trials. Another week or so, to get the last of the shrines. By then, he’s gotten it down to minutes to draw that power up.

He’ll focus on it, the next run.

Ganon. Zelda. Her golden form is like the Goddess Statues, but so much _more_. It’s such a strong light that Link can’t see any deeper. It’s blinding.

“Barring the addition of yet more variables, this should be the last control time loop.” She says. “We need to see what happens with your time magic. If you have it active when the moment comes, and feel anything. If you can delay the moment on your own. Remember-”

“Any data is useful data.” Link says, because she’s told him this before. “Even nothing happening at all.”

She nods. Gives him a hug. “This is going to end.” She tells him.

11:59.

Link breathes in, and takes hold of time. Zelda’s breath slows, the wind slows, the swaying of the grass slows, as the moment stretches into eternity.

Link watches as the time on the Sheikah Slate ticks up. 11:59:57. 11:59:58. 11:59:59.

 _Something else_ grasps hold of time, and everything _stops_. The picture is a picture, in motion no longer. It pushes.

‘ _No._ ’ Link thinks, and tries to push back. ‘ _Keep moving._ ’

Time stutters forwards.

12:00:00.

A bead of sweat might have formed. But there wasn’t nearly enough time for that.

Link slips.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Link smiles. _Progress_.

He gets up. “I need to tell you something, Zelda.”

He’s going to get out, sooner or later.


	7. Chapter 7

Link continues, as he always did. The direction that Zelda gives him this time around is to focus on his magic, both the time magic and the power within his soul. 

Both are _more_ than they used to be. It’s easier to use the time magic this time than the last. He’s still drained, from the Slumber of Resurrection, but all the progress he’s made in developing the time magic is still there. He just has less stamina to use it. 

That magic within his soul is... Not very different, actually. There’s slightly more of it, in terms of amount, than there used to be, but particular emphasis had to be placed on ‘slightly’. 

So Link goes to Kakariko, and has a conversation with Impa that he’s had many times before. The wise old Sheikah still doesn’t seem to notice anything new about him, other than expressing happiness at him having kept his memories.

One of these days, one of these loops, he’s going to have to be a bit more honest. These were people who he trusted and who had trusted him. 

But that’s a pointless endeavour, so long as he stands to keep going back. Later, he will do it. Just as soon as he can have more than three days after Ganon with them.

“Magic?” Impa gives a ‘hmm’. “I can’t say too much on that subject. I only know the Sheikah Arts.”

The Sheikah Arts include the ability to float, teleportation, summoning of spiky metal balls, creating barriers, and more. Maz Koshia can turn into a giant and shoot lasers and control the weather, though Link, admittedly, isn’t sure how much of the last is Maz Koshia and how much of it is the Ancient Technology of the floating arena.

“What’s the difference, exactly?” Link asks.

“Hmph.” Impa sighs. “That’s a difficult question. Why do you want to know?”

Link takes hold of time. The world slows. The air is thick and heavy, but he’s able to push his way through it as he stands up. He takes a step to the left and sits back down again.

Impa startles as he lets go of time. From her perspective, she probably just saw him blur from one spot of the floor to the other. 

It’s not the kind of thing he can keep up for too long, at the moment, but it is a _very_ powerful trick. Hylia only knew how many Lynels and Hinoxes had found themselves on the wrong end of it.

“My ability to slow time grew stronger.” Link says. There’s a massive explanation that covers several timelines in there, but he’s trying to avoid that at the moment. 

“So I see.” Impa says, after a moment, staring intently. 

“I hope to make it even better.” Link continues. “For Zelda’s sake.”

For the sake of being able to save Zelda, and let her _stay_ saved. 

For the sake of having a future, rather than an eternally repeating past.

Impa stares at him. She believes him, but she’s sharp enough to catch on that what he’s said isn’t anything even _close_ to the full story.

Finally, she sighs. 

“Once, the Sheikah used magic like any other.” Impa begins. “Modern Sheikah Arts, however, despite their similarity to the older form, do not.” Her head tipped forwards, the hat hiding her face for a moment. “Of course, ‘modern’ is misleading. ‘Modern’ Arts descend from the time period of ten thousand years ago. The older Arts of which I spoke come from before even then, so a more accurate descriptor for Sheikah Arts would be ‘Ancient’ and ‘Pre-Ancient’, I suppose.”

“What does the modern version use?” Link asks. 

“What does Ancient Technology use?” Impa returns the question. “The answer is one and the same. The power discovered by the Ancients is not magic, but something else. Something that shares many similarities, admittedly, but still something different.” She hums. “This is a fact we only recently rediscovered. The Arts have little overlap with Ancient Technology, despite sharing the same energy source. If only we had known that, those one hundred years ago...”

She sighs again. “Purah and Robbie would be able to tell you more of that specific subject.”

Link heads to Hateno.

“Sorry, but that’s Impa’s wishful thinking.” Purah leans on the table. “We can identify it, and we’ve found ways to manipulate and use it, but as to what it _really_ is? Not a clue.” She hops up, grabbing a book and opening it. “We can confirm that the same energy used in Sheikah Arts is also harnessed with Ancient Technology. Not surprising, since the two share the same source. Where it comes from, though, and how a biological specimen and mechanical construct can both use it, is still a mystery. Now do that time thing again while I point some sensors at you.”

Link escapes hours later, when she’s finally distracted enough for him to slip out.

Link goes across Necluda and Faron. With every day that passes, the magic of his soul becomes a bit easier to wield. Practice, practice, practice. By the time he defeats Waterblight again, it only takes him five or seconds to summon it.

With Mipha’s Grace, Link decides to start experimenting. Moving the magic through his body is easy enough by then, so he moves to the next step.

For all the trouble the previous step gave him, the next one proves startlingly easy. He pushes, it goes out. Done.

Much harder is actually _doing_ anything with it. When he releases the magic, it pours out of his skin in the form of glowing white smoke, and that’s it. That’s all it does.

Link tries to direct it, and fails. Link tries to change it, and fails. Like tries to reabsorb it, and fails. Once it’s out, it just dissipates, and Link has to wait for it to rebuild afterwards. It doesn’t even linger long enough to be useful as a light source.

Two weeks of that as he travels across Akkala, and Link takes a detour.

“Perhaps you should try and channel it through something?” Kaysa suggests. “Mortals used wands and staves and things like that all the time, right?”

Link has an Ice Spear on him, at the time. He pulls it, points it away from Kaysa, who watches on with intrigue, and then tries to follow her advice.

It takes a while. Releasing magic? Easy. Releasing it into where he wanted it to go? Harder. He has to take his gloves off and hold it with his bare hands, which itself requires him to constantly pass it back and forth from one hand to the other, but he eventually figures it out after a few hours, pushing power into the Ice Spear.

The result? It gets _cold_. Link feels his pure magic come into contact with the power of ice within the Ice Spear, and then the pure magic begins to transform into more of that cold power. Ice forms at the spear’s tip, mist beginning to waft off of it, and a biting chill makes him rapidly drop the metal.

It lands in a puddle, and the puddle begins to freeze.

“So in the presence of elemental energy, that pure magic took on the same characteristics.” Kaysa leans over, and grabs the block of ice with the spear in it. She blows a puff of pink Fairy magic, and the ice disintegrates. Between her fingers, it looks more like a particularly elaborate toothpick, but she gives it a flick and the result is closer to a Blizzard Rod than an Ice Spear, a sweeping wave of cold flash-freezing everything in front of it.

“You’ll need control.” Kaysa informs him. “And you might want to learn how to channel magic through gloves, too.”

He nods.

“Try it with a normal weapon, as well.” She prompts him.

He does. He has a spare Soldier’s Claymore he hasn’t gotten around to replacing with something better, yet. It takes a bit, but he’s able to do the same.

The Claymore has no magic of its own, though. His magic just sort of lingers within for a few minutes before dissipating.

“I’m not sure if anything is happening.” He says.

“Well, that makes two of us.” Kaysa agrees. “Go use it. See if you can’t keep a steady flow. That should help you with your control.”

Link does.

It takes him a while to notice, but he realizes after the third camp of monsters that the Claymore has lasted a lot longer than they normally do. Link’s raw physical strength usually can’t be handled by his weapons. The Claymore is showing signs of damage, but it probably should have snapped apart in the last camp.

With a bit more testing, and six camps of monsters wiped out, Link concludes that it’s not a coincidence.

Needless to say, he’s _thrilled_.

Link, possessed of a distinctly Zelda-like curiosity and eagerness to experiment, makes a few more detours. Lynels unhappily donate to his cause, as do Wizzrobes, Guardian Scouts, and Hinoxes. 

Normal weapons, he figures out, become more durable. The more magic he channels, the harder those weapons become to effect, as if they’re being reinforced. They don’t really get sharper or stronger, but considering his strength, _not_ deforming as much when he hits things does make for a rather noticeable difference. The better the weapon, the more efficient it is, and since Lynels and Hinoxes make a habit of collecting the best weapons, Link makes a habit of collecting from them.

Magic items, on the other hand, _do_ get more powerful. They take whatever he gives them and then unleash it. He does have to be careful how much he gives them, however, because if he pushes too much power in...

Well, to quote Kaysa, they burst. Fire equipment will explode and melt. Ice equipment will freeze everything and shatter. Electric equipment discharges, usually into him, and falls apart. He finds that there’s a fine threshold where an item will take power, but won’t detonate immediately, so if he’s fast enough, and he obviously is, he can toss it at an enemy and let them deal with the consequences. He also finds that the same applies to elemental arrows, to his joy, but not to bomb arrows, to his sorrow.

Guardian equipment is where it gets interesting. He tests it with a small Guardian Sword, and the weapon absorbs his magic easily, like the One-Hit Obliterator. Unlike the One-Hit Obliterator, however, instead of vanishing into the Ancient nothingness, the Guardian Sword pushes it back out.

The glowing light blue blade becomes a little whiter. The more magic Link puts in, the whiter it gets. He has to maintain a continuous flow, because if he doesn’t, it’ll go back to the old shade of blue after a few minutes.

Actually testing it out reveals that Guardian equipment gets the benefits of both. The blade is definitely sharper, and it lasts a lot longer than it otherwise does. Useful.

‘ _I wonder what happens if I try this with the Master Sword._ ’ Link thinks, idly.

And suddenly, the detours are over.

Link goes to Korok Forest. It takes a little bit of time for the Koroks to stop flitting around, and then a bit longer to fill the Deku Tree in.

Link draws the Master Sword. Every time he goes back, he misses it just a bit more.

He takes a seat on the pedestal, holding the blade in his lap.

His hand lights up with white, and he grips the handle.

The Master Sword flashes, and Link’s breath catches in his throat. He hears- he can _hear_...

A voice. 

The Master Sword, before, sounded like a harmonic chime to him. It still does, now, but there’s a pause, and a pitch, and cadence. Female.

The words are muffled. But he can tell that there are words, now.

“ _Link._ ” Zelda speaks, and he remembers how to breathe. “ _There are Trials-_ ”

“Yes.” He says. “I know.”

Link does the first trial. The voice in his sword sounds clearer. Is that emotion, he can now distinguish?

Link does the second trial. The voice urges him, words still unclear, but he can still, somehow, understand what she’s trying to say. Keep going.

Link does the third trial. The Master Sword shines _resplendently_.

Link holds it in front of him, and allows the power to pour. 

White dances around the blade. There’s a flash of light.

Link sees a body of crystal, purple and blue, in the shape of a woman, kneeling in front of him. She’s hunched over, slightly, and she lacks arms, but that doesn’t stop the two portions of her cape from flaring out to give the impression. Link has never seen her before, and still, she is _achingly_ familiar.

She lifts off of the ground, straightening to float in the air. Her eyes are featureless, but he _knows_ they’re focused on him. 

“Master Link.” She says. Her voice is a collection of harmonics, nothing else quite like it. There is a note, faint as it may be, of happiness. It makes his heart _ache_ , but the emotion it fills him with is not sorrow.

“Fi.” The name slips out. 

He blinks. The name. Her name, he knows.

Fi twitches, shifting back before floating a bit closer. She’s examining him, though there’s no way to read that from her face. 

Slowly, very slowly, her mouth curves into a small smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Fi is a figure at once unknown and familiar. Her manner of speech is robotic in a rather similar way to Cherry, though her vocabulary is significantly more expansive.

“I will give you as much assistance as I am able to, Master Link.” She says. There’s a brief pause, after that, but she continues. “I would be happy to.”

And then she gives him another tiny smile. For such a small thing, it makes him surprisingly happy.

“My observation indicates that the sight of my smile increases your joy significantly.” She states.

“I’m not even sure why.” He shrugs. 

“Analyzing.” Fi states. “During my adventure with your previous incarnation, I did not smile. If you have retained enough of an impression of that life to remember my name, you may also have retained enough impression that the sight of me expressing joy is cause for greater-than-normal joy.”

“I wasn’t complaining.” Link says. “Didn’t smile?”

“I was created to assist the Hero.” Fi explains. “It was why I existed. I was not created with emotions. A weapon has no need for such things.”

Link frowns. “You’re more than just a weapon.”

“For much of my early existence, Master Link, I was not.” Fi rebuts. “Even with the benefit of time to think on the matter, I still cannot pinpoint the exact time when adherence to my duty became happiness to help my Master. It was before the end of that journey, but even so, it took many more years before I was able to properly classify my emotions. Smiling is not something I had the opportunity to do. I was emotionless, before. Bound to duty, after. And at the end of my time with the Hero of Sky, my consciousness slept deeply within the Master Sword. I maintained a degree of awareness, but this is the first time I have been able to remanifest my spiritual form. I was worried it might not look good, as I have not smiled before.”

“Well.” He blinked. “If I have anything to say about that whatsoever, you will have a lot more opportunity to practice.”

Another smile. And he recognizes, now, the care that goes into them. “I believe... that this would make me glad, Master Link.”

Link and Fi leave the Korok Forest. 

It’s the first time that Link has had a companion that he can actually _talk_ to, on the journey. Zelda isn’t physically there, even if they can hold a conversation, and a lot of her attention goes to keeping Calamity enchained. He’s had plenty of horses, but he obviously can’t speak to them. He _has_ been joined by other travellers before, but they follow the roads, and at best, it’s a temporary escort. Before Calamity, he had often journeyed with Zelda, but she had been his charge for so long before she became a true friend.

Fi is the spirit of the Master Sword, and a companion to a past version of himself. It takes only a few days before he finds himself thinking of her as a true partner.

It does him a world of good. 

Fi turns out to be able to help with more than just his sanity. She has abilities of her own, capable of sensing the presence of materials and monsters. She can sense auras, and communicate through telepathy. More than any of that, though, she’s an ancient spirit hailing from among the earliest ages of the world, and that means she’s seen a lot. 

With that knowledge and what she’s seen and experienced, she can help him with his magic, both types. His control of time continues to grow, but the pure magic becomes significantly more useful. His ability to channel it into objects becomes far more precise, and significantly less wasteful, allowing him to keep it up for longer. Elemental equipment becomes rapidly more dangerous, and he’s able to manually recharge them with his own power, preventing him from needing to find replacements.

All of it pales in comparison to what he can do with _her_. The Master Sword. The two of them click together like gears, each driving the other. Link’s pure magic feeds Fi’s strength, and Fi’s power echoes back at him. She takes everything he is and makes him _more_. Stronger. Faster. Better.

But that isn’t all that Fi’s good for. 

“These machines are unintelligent.” Fi reports as Link is lining up a shot towards a Guardian.

“You say that like you expect otherwise.” Link notes. _Twang_ goes the bow, and an Ancient Arrow buries itself in the Guardian’s eye. Link moves up, and begins to harvest it for a few more parts. 

“During my previous adventure, we encountered several examples of machinery not dissimilar to this.” Fi states. “Several such machines possessed rudimentary or advanced intelligences. The power sources of such machines bore the Sheikah Crest.”

“The Sheikah had advanced technology even before the Era of Ancients?” Link asks. “How is that possible?”

“The power sources I refer to were known as Timeshift Stones. As the name might imply, they possessed the ability to manipulate time.” Fi explains. “In addition, there are a multitude of artifacts and items that possess similar abilities. It is entirely possible that the machines encountered then actually possess their technological origins in later Eras. Only Goddess Hylia would be able to conclusively elaborate on the matter.”

Link pauses for a moment as he pulls an Ancient Power Core out of the Guardian. “I’m not sure if I’m okay with that.” He admits.

“Advanced technology has appeared throughout multiple Eras.” Fi continues. “67% of these appearances do not make chronological or industrial sense. This Era is an exception, with all known examples of advanced technologies sharing a consistent source. More data is required to draw conclusions on the matter. There is nothing that can be done about it, Master Link. You should not worry needlessly.”

“Thank you, Fi.” He says, and then goes back to pulling the Guardian apart.

He’s done it enough times by now that he only takes a few more minutes. 

“By the way, how can you tell how smart these Guardians are?” He asks, belatedly, putting away the last gear.

“I am capable of sensing and communicating with machines.” Fi states. 

Link nods.

Then he blinks.

“Communicating.” He repeats to himself. “Fi?”

“Yes, Master Link?”

“You can seal Calamity’s power, yes?” He asks.

“Yes, Master Link. You are well aware of this.” She notes.

“Out of curiosity, do you think you could purge Calamity’s influence from the Guardians?”

Fi pauses. “Unknown. Experimentation is required.”

“I see.” He says.

Link and Fi go to Hyrule Field.

An arrow to the eye stuns a Guardian, and then six swings of the Master Sword remove its legs. Link runs up the side of it, and grabs hold of one of the protrusions on its head. Leaning back, he then jabs the Master Sword into the seam between the head and the rest of the body.

It sparks. The Master Sword flashes, and the Guardian jerks, the head trying to turn to face him, but since he’s hanging onto the head, that accomplishing nothing.

“Please supply me with additional energy, Master Link.” Fi requests, and he does. The Master Sword had already been glowing, but it intensified, and small flecks of white began to drift off. 

The Master Sword pulsed. Link sensed the magic being channeled through it, taking on a bit of its properties as it did. That power went into the Guardian, and the Malice that corrupted it _shrieked_.

Neither Fi nor Link let up. The power pours in, and the Guardian jerks erratically. The pink of Malice lightens, and then there’s a final burst of white flecks as it is destroyed entirely.

The Guardian goes still.

It’s still glowing, but now its lines are white.

“Purge successful.” Fi announces. “Please hold. I will attempt to interface with it now.”

Link can see her spirit reaching out. It’s not something he’s figured out how to do, yet, even though she’s tried to teach him. She reaches into the Guardian.

“Interface successful.” Fi states. “Physical contact should no longer be necessary.”

Link pulls the Master Sword back and lets go, sliding down the head before jumping off.

The Guardian’s head turns, and Link’s shield-arm tenses. It stops as it faces him, but no targeting laser appears, and after a moment, it continues turning.

“It is currently operating autonomously.” Fi reports. “From my examination, I believe I can give them commands.”

“You can control them?” He asks.

“Further data is required. Beginning experimentation now.”

The head stops. It turns left, then right, then faces Link, before turning in the completely opposite direction.

“Manual control activated.” Fi notes. “Multiple errors are being reported in most systems. I believe they correspond to leg controls.”

The white lines have, by now, faded back to orange.

“I believe this is the weapon control.” Fi states.

The orange glow turns green.

Link stares.

“That was not the weapon control.” Fi reports.

“They can change colour?” Link asks. “Why?”

“It may be a visual signaling mechanism to denote role assignments.” Fi speculates.

The glow changes colour, again, swapping to blue, then yellow, then red, and then back to green.

Then it turns rainbow, and colours shift and change across the entire body.

“And that?” Link asks.

“I am unsure of the purpose of this.” Fi states. Link, quite frankly, agrees.

The glow goes back to the regular orange.

 _Then_ , the red targeting laser flicks on, and then sweeps across the ground. “Weapon activated.” Fi relays. “Attempting to fire.”

There’s a sound. It’s not the sound of the deadly laser charging.

“Retreat!” Fi says, urgent, but Link was already moving.

He gets to a safe distance and lays on the ground just as the Guardian detonates, a burst of energy leaving a smouldering hulk of Sheikah materials behind.

A few seconds pass. 

“It appears I activated a self-destruct mechanism.” Fi explains. She sounds slightly apologetic.

“It’s fine.” Link says, rising up. “There’s a lot more Guardians where that came from. Guardians that still have legs.”

Link crosses a hill. Another Guardian waits, patrolling. Link presses at the Sheikah Slate, and the Sheikah set materializes in a wave of blue. He sneaks up, and then jumps on it just as it passes.

The Master Sword is jammed into the seam, and the process repeats.

“Control established.” Fi announces. “Systems are reporting no errors. Beginning experimentation.”

One leg lifts, then comes back down. It lifts again, and then twists upwards, the limb undulating. It twists and turns, shifting as much as possible, before it comes back down into place.

Another limb moves, and then another, until they’ve all done the same thing. Then they all move, and the body tilts as some legs lower and others raise. The body shifts in a circle, and then _clangs_ as it lowers abruptly into the ground.

“Vertical orientation is inverted.” Fi claims. “Correcting.”

The body lifts. Up and down. It takes a few steps, wobbly at first, but then it transitions into the smooth movement that they usually have.

The targeting laser flicks on, and then off.

“Please climb aboard, Master Link.” Fi requests, and he does, seating himself on top of the head between the three protrusions.

The Guardian takes off with surprising speed, going along the road. It heads towards a camp they passed before, but hadn’t wiped out.

It’s only Bokoblins. The strongest among them is a single Blue.

The monsters stare in open confusion as the Guardian approaches.

The targeting laser flicks on, and the Blue Bokoblin stares dumbly at its own chest.

There’s a noise, and this time, it _is_ the sound of the deadly laser charging.

The Bokoblin panics, but it’s far too late. The laser lances out, and it vanishes under the power of Ancient Technology.

The rest of the Bokoblins screech and break, running in different directions, but it doesn’t help. The Guardian turns, and fires rapid, low-charge bursts that send the Bokoblins flying, launching them into the air with deceitfully powerful shots.

In a matter of seconds, it’s over. The campsite looks a lot like what happens when Link just can’t be bothered to retrieve anything from the Monsters, and so pulls out the Bomb Arrows.

“Fi?” He says. “I want you to know that if Zelda didn’t exist, you would be my favourite person.”

The Guardian shifts, slightly, leveling itself.

“Experimentation concluded.” Fi says, unnecessarily. “Guardian returned to semi-autonomous operations. It is awaiting your command.”

She sounds very satisfied.

Link straightens up, running the tips of his fingers along the blade of the Master Sword. “There’s still a lot of Guardians nearby.” He notes. “Depriving Calamity of weapons can only be a good thing.”

He’s smiling.

“After that... let’s go to Akkala.” He says. “I’d like to see if we can’t free some Guardian Skywatchers.”

And so they do. 

Link and Fi free a score of Guardians, and then make their way to Akkala. Guardians Skywatchers are tricky, but jumping from the top of the tower lets him glide on top of them. They have a tendency to fall a little, and if they’re too close to the ground, they will hit it, but other than that, it’s mostly a matter of patience.

Link and Fi continue the normal route, from there. Now, though, Link makes a point of freeing every mobile Guardian they come across. Fi gives them orders, and then a path to follow that will take them away from travelers or civilians who would, rightly, still see the Guardians as a bad thing.

The Divine Beasts are freed. Then the tamer trials. Then the last shrines.

Link makes the final preparations, and then storms the castle.

Calamity Ganon still doesn’t stand a chance. Dark Beast Ganon materializes in Windvane Meadow, as it always does.

This time, though, Link gives a sharp whistle as he summons the Master Cycle Zero.

The Master Sword pulses, and Guardians _pour_ in. They come running and flying out of the forest to the south. They come running and flying over Whistling Hill. They come running and flying from the Mabe Prairie, from the Passeri Greenbelt, from Mount Daphnes, and from Lake Kolomo.

Calamity howls and shrieks. The Guardians, nearly two hundred in total, respond with mechanical hums and piercing whines.

Calamity’s Malice can be pierced by only a few weapons. Arrows of Light, from the Bow of Light. The beams, from the Master Sword. The Ancient Arrows, produced by Robbie.

Guardian Lasers very firmly add themselves to that list. They fire in staggered formation, some groups unleashing rapid blasts while others charge their full power. They don’t concentrate fire, they just blast Calamity over and over and over. The Beast roars, and from its own mouth unleashes its dark power, a sweeping beam of Malice, but Fi is the one in control, not their own basic instructions. They scatter appropriately.

Zelda tears open the core of its being. The Bow of Light is, as always, up to the task. 

Calamity is banished, again.

Zelda stares at him, and then, slowly, turns her gaze to the army of Guardians he’s gathered.

“This is actually a first for me.” He says, once she turns back to him. 

She lets out a huff of air, and then gives a very distinctly un-ladylike snort. “Was it as cathartic for you as it was for me?”

“Possibly.” He nods, solemnly, and she laughs.

He points at Skywatcher. “You stay here.” He tells it. “The rest of you... go back to patrolling, I guess.”

The Guardians, with the exception of the Skywatcher he’d singled out, turn around and get going.

She steps closer, and hugs him. “Where to now?” She asks. “Please tell me it’s a bath. I hate this dress.”

“First, the river.” He agrees. The Skywatcher comes down, falling sideways so that they can easily access the top of it. “Then Kakariko.”

“You’re not planning on riding this straight in, are you?” She asks as she steps in. It wobbles, slightly, as the fans restart, but it rises nonetheless.

“Of course not.” He promises.

River. Burned dress. Kakariko. The Skywatcher takes them close, and they walk the rest of the distance so they don’t scare the Sheikah. It’s a lot faster than a horse or the Master Cycle Zero.

Link had timed it to just after midnight, so they had the most possible time together. Zelda wakes up sometime in the middle of the same day.

“It’s so good to meet you.” Zelda says to Fi, who treats her with deep, instantaneous respect. 

“There’s a lot of questions I’d like to ask.” Zelda says. “But I’ll wait until I only have to ask once, rather than over and over again.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Link says, but Zelda shakes her head. Link is the one whose time can be wasted, and she tells him as much.

And so, they spend the next three days considering the problem. Zelda picks Fi’s brain on the subject of magic, spells, and curses, and then comes up with a new plan this time.

Fi, the Master Sword, is an existence inherently opposed to Calamity. Zelda thinks, and Fi agrees, that if Link channels his magic into the Master Sword, and she channels it back into him, then this probably-Calamity related time-loop would be pushed back.

“Fi’s a new variable.” Zelda realizes. “Which means another control timeline for you, Link. My power, your time magic, and now your pure magic and Fi.”

11:59.

Fi vanishes back into the Master Sword, and Link breathes. White runs under his skin.

He keeps a finger on the pulse of time, but that’s just to keep track. 

The _something else_ appears, and takes grasp. Link doesn’t try to fight it, but he can feel the trouble that the _something else_ in pushing. It feels, vaguely, weaker.

12:00:00.

12:00:01.

12:00:02.

12:00:03.

12:00:04.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Another possibility, revealed.

Link gets up. “I need to tell you something, Zelda.”

Door one, door two. A wave of magic.

Harmonic chimes.

“Fi?” He breathes, not daring to _hope_. “Is that you?”

Her voice is a bare whisper. Quieter than Zelda, and so much less clear, but it’s still hers.

“ _Master Link._ ” She calls. “ _I await you._ ”


	9. Chapter 9

It probably would have been a wise decision to go to Kakariko. There’s Impa and Cotera and two sets of clothes.

But Fi is waiting.

So of course, he goes to Korok Forest. He goes straight there, even, activating the shrines along the way but not completing them.

He’s lucky enough to pick up a new set of clothes at the stable not far from the forest’s entrance. The old clothes he’d picked up at the entrance of the Shrine of Resurrection had been falling apart. The Koroks swarm in curiosity, and he apologizes to them but he can’t wait.

“Fi?” He asks, as he steps onto the pedestal of the Master Sword. It flashes, and he reaches out.

“ _Master Link._ ” Fi’s voice sounds, and the Master Sword comes loose easily. 

It’s warm. Link’s magic runs into it, and Fi appears in a flash, floating closely. 

He swallows. “Do you remember, Fi?”

“I remember, Master Link.”

Relief hits harder than Calamity Ganon, and Link falls to his knees, because, finally, _finally_ -

_He wasn’t alone._

Fi’s cape wraps around his shoulders, and Link laughs as he cries. The Master Sword is warm in his grip, but Fi herself is pleasantly cool.

He’s not sure how long it takes him to calm down. An hour? Two?

Fi would know. She’s precise, and she’s meticulous in keeping track of things, but he doesn’t ask.

Doesn’t want to ask.

But, eventually, he pulls himself together again.

“To be clear-” Fi begins as he straightens up. “The last loop for you was the one where we tested our combined power against this spell?”

“Yes.” He said. 

“Good.” Fi states. “I had worried about the possibility that you would have experienced more time than I had.”

“How long have you been... awake?” He asks.

“Two hours, twelve minutes, and thirteen seconds before you emerged from the Shrine of Resurrection.” Fi reports.

“That’d be around when I woke up.” He nods. A few more seconds pass in companionable silence, before curiosity finally makes him ask a question he’s been wondering about. “You didn’t test me?”

“Master Link.” She says, a hint of... not _chastisement_ , but something close. “You have proven yourself beyond any doubt. You will never be judged, so long as I remember.”

He smiles.

“You must have been through much.” The Deku Tree says, and Link just about jumps out of his skin since he’d honestly forgotten where he was. Fi’s cape unravels, and she floats towards his side.

“It’s a long story.” Link says, once his heart has stopped racing. “And it isn’t over yet, but we’re figuring it out.”

The Deku Tree hums. “Then I wish you luck with it.”

Fi, the Master Sword, isn’t at her full power. Easily fixed. Doing the trials after he’s recovered a bit of his strength would probably be a smart idea, but Link has done the trials so many times he could probably do them in his sleep. 

A few hours later, and they’re leaving the Korok Forest.

Link and Fi make a brief stop at Hyrule Field, and then head to Kakariko. Fond as he is of horses, Guardians make a more convenient method of transportation.

“You’ve been busy, I see.” Impa says, eyeing the Master Sword on his back. “How long have you been awake?”

“A week or so.” He answers. Most of it was travel time to the Korok Forest, then back to Hyrule Field.

“You reclaimed the Master Sword that quickly?” Impa directs a look at him. “And then managed to get here, in that time? Find a horse, did you?”

“No.” Though he’ll have to consider that, next time, since it will get him to the Korok Forest quicker.

“Some other creature, then?” Impa continues. “You didn’t end up riding a bear again, did you?”

“One time-” He begins, but cuts himself off with a sigh. “I maintain that I made the correct tactical decision.”

“It was on fire.” Impa said, flatly. “ _You_ were on fire. You set the forest on fire.”

“That was entirely the fault of those Lynels.” He denies, because _really_ , Impa is blowing it out of proportion. “And it was only a small section of the forest.”

Impa sniffs. “What, then?”

Link pauses. “You know how the Master Sword can seal Malice?”

“Of course.” Impa says, slowly. “It is the Sword that Seals the Darkness. Is this somehow relevant?”

Link nods.

Impa stared at him for a few more seconds. Realization flashes across her face.

“Link.” She began, carefully. “Has your collector tendencies advanced far enough that you’ve managed to steal a Guardian from Calamity?”

“It isn’t stealing.” Link said. “They were ours in the first place. Calamity stole them from us.”

“That would be a yes, then.” Impa said.

“ _Reclaimed_.” Link emphasized. “That’s completely different.”

Impa shifted, and hopped off of her pillows. “Show it to me.”

Link, Fi, and Impa head right, through the shorter mountain pass and out to Sahasra Slope. The rest of the Sheikah who see it watch on with naked confusion, but none follow. Link gives a short, sharp whistle.

A Guardian emerges from a short distance away, having hidden behind the mountain.

Impa stares up at it. The Guardian looks at her, briefly, before its head starts turning and it begins to scan for threats.

“Purah will fight you tooth and nail for this.” She tells him.

“That’s fine.” Link says. 

Impa blinks, and then turns to him. Her eyes narrow, boring into him. “You said ‘They’.” She remembers, accusing.

Link gives a different, slightly longer but still sharp whistle.

Four more Guardians follow the first.

Impa huffs, but Link catches the hint of a smile before her hat tilts and hides her face. “Calamity-” She muses aloud. “- has no idea what it will soon face.”

“I intend-” He says. “- to be thorough.”

“Do not let me keep you, then.”

From there, things get back on track. 

Link and Fi go to Hateno, and meet Purah again. Impa was right, and Purah keeps a Guardian. Sneaking it up to the Ancient Tech Lab requires Link to direct it through the road down Firly Plateau, and then follow the beach from Loshlo Harbour to Hateno Bay. The Guardian proves fairly good at scaling sheer surfaces, and that fortunately lets them avoid the road up. Following _that_ would have made it impossible to avoid somebody seeing or hearing something. 

He extracts several promises from Purah before he lets her keep it, chief among them being a promise not to experiment on it while anybody from Hateno was anywhere even remotely close.

“Oh, come on!” Purah complains. 

“Guardians have been harbingers of death and destruction for the last _hundred years_ , Purah.” He holds steadfast. “Please remember that not everybody shares your enthusiasm.”

“I’m not actually _six_ , you know.” Says the six year old one-hundred-and-twenty-six year old.

Link and Fi go to Zora’s Domain, where tight spaces, regular visits from Sidon, and close proximity to Vah Ruta prevents the Guardians from being useful. Fi sends them to the other side of Ploymus Mountain, into the Ukuku Plains, while he handles things there.

From there, it’s up to Akkala, where Link loses another of his entourage to Robbie.

Robbie, at least, has less people near him, with only a stable down the mountain to make up regular inhabitants. Robbie is, furthermore, known to actually work with and create Ancient weaponry, so the inhabitants of the stable could excuse any sudden laser beams that might happen to launch from the vicinity of his lab.

Robbie is thrilled. His wife Jerrin is also thrilled, since it distracts Robbie from Cherry.

Her demeanour cools noticeably when they start suggesting names and one of the ones that Robbie throws out is ‘Cherry 2.0’.

Link decides that discretion is the better part of valour, and leaves quietly.

“Jealousy is a curious emotion.” Fi observes, after they’ve left.

“Cherry was the name of Robbie’s first love.” Link explains. “Robbie knows, and tries not to, for Jerrin’s sake, but sometimes he slips.”

“It is a sad situation.” Fi ultimately decides.

They go to Death Mountain. Guardian Stalkers can take the heat, but they cannot survive direct contact with lava for very long. Skywatchers wouldn’t have that problem, but Vah Rudania can make it rain explosive molten rocks, and they are unfortunately not immune to _that_.

Vah Medoh presents a similar problem, but instead of the floor being lava, there is no floor, and instead of raining explosive molten rock, there’s cannons that far outrange the Skywatchers. Doable, but he’d like not to use all of the Skywatchers in such a blatantly eye-catching and wasteful way.

Vah Naboris is different from any of the other three Divine Beasts, in that it is in the middle of nowhere, there is nobody nearby, and the environment would permit him bringing the Guardians with him. Unfortunately, Vah Naboris has the power of summoning lightning storms, and the Guardians _do not_ handle those well. 

Also, there’s Riju, who he’s fairly fond of, who could definitely use the encouragement, and who he doesn’t want to rob the role of dealing with the Gerudo’s problem from. It was good for her confidence, and for the trust the people had in her.

And so, with Riju he goes.

After that, it’s back to the Tamer Trial. The Skywatchers _could_ assist, but the point of it is that it’s a trial for him, and not for the army he’s gathered by now.

First part. Revisiting the Divine Beasts for the second part. Third part, with the puzzles under the Shrine of Resurrection.

Fourth part, and the battle with Maz Koshia. It goes the same as it usually does, though one of the Guardian Shields finally breaks apart in the middle of it.

“I’m going to need another shield.” He tells Fi. This is a lie, because he still has a dozen more, but he’s made a point of talking to her regularly, just so she can have the opportunity to talk back and offer her opinions on things.

“There was a Gerudo Shield inside of the Shrine of Resurrection chamber that you did not pick up.” Fi reports. “It’s quality is low compared to available alternatives, however.”

Link pauses as he’s about to walk down the hill. “You know, I’ve never actually gone back in there afterwards.” He muses. “I’m not even sure if we can.”

“There is only one way to find out, Master Link.” Fi responds, and Link nods.

He turns on his heel and heads back into the Shrine of Resurrection.

He puts the Sheikah Slate into its pedestal, and then the Shrine does, to his slight surprise, actually descend.

“That answers that.” He says.

The central gear shaft of the room is still turning, but Link notes that the progress he made hadn’t been reset. The door at the back of the room is open, and...

And the blue stasis field is there, again.

Link blinks. Suddenly, he doesn’t care about the Gerudo Shield anymore.

“The Monk is still here?” He asks, mostly to himself.

“It appears so.” Fi agrees.

Link walks across the room. Maz Koshia is, indeed, still here. The Ancient Sheikah Monk is seated in the exact same position he had been before Link had reached him.

He stops onto the pedestal before the Sheikah Monk, and reaches up. The blue stasis field shatters into a swarm of fading blue lines.

“I applaud you for having the fortitude to come here.” Maz Koshia speaks. The Monk’s words etch themselves in his mind, just as they normally do. “I have nothing more to offer you.”

“I’m not-” Link pauses for a moment. “I’m not looking for anything. I was just... surprised that you’re still here. The other Monks... faded. I thought you did the same.”

“The tasks of my fellows has been completed.” Maz Koshia explains. “They were released from their duties, and so released their holds on life.”

“Released..?” Link considered. “Were you not?”

“My task has been completed.” Maz Koshia denies. “I have simply chosen not to move on yet.”

“Oh. It’s your choice.” Link nods.

Silence lapses, for a few seconds.

“I will offer you the chance at another battle with me, if you wish.” The Monk said. “But I do not believe it will serve you any purpose. You displayed perfect adaptability, in the challenge.”

“Not really.” Link winced, and looked to the side. “The first time I fought you was a much closer battle.”

There was a pause, before the Monk spoke again. “First... time?”

“It’s a long story.” Link sighed, shaking his head.

“I believe... that I can take a guess at it.” Finally, Maz Koshia moved. His legs shifted, crossing, while his spine straightened. His fingers threaded together and came to rest in his lap. “You have met a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

The words sent a chill down his back and filled his guts with ice. Not the way they were ‘said’, the words themselves. The _phrase_. Why did such a simple, if dark phrase hold such an effect?

“Courageous Hero.” Maz Koshia addressed. “How many times have you been here before?”


	10. Chapter 10

Link blinked. “You figured that out quickly.” He said, trying to ignore the ill feeling the phrase the Monk had spoken had filled him with.. “But the answer... Well, I’ve looped twenty seven times. Here, specifically, though? Fourteen times.”

Maz Koshia’s head dipped. Not quite far enough for his hat to hide his head, considering that Link was standing on a platform lower than him, but his face was already covered anyway.

It was a distinctly Impa-like gesture. Apparently, Sheikah habits ran strong.

“This is the first time we have had this conversation.” Maz Koshia stated.

Link blinked. “Yes.” 

“Then I am proven wrong, Hero. I do have something to offer you.” He shifted, standing up in another of those _chillingly_ smooth movements, before moving forwards and hopping down from his platform. “Come.”

Link followed.

“I have witnessed a portion of your journey, personally. The period of the Divine Beast Tamer Trial, to be specific. I am aware, however, of much of the rest of your journey in less specific terms. Am I right, Hero, in judging that you should only require, at most, another two weeks before you challenge the Calamity?”

Link nodded.

“I shall also guess, now, that the end of your... time loops... follows near the end of the Calamity?”

“Three midnights after.” Link agreed. “You are really good at this.”

Which was fair, he supposed. The Ancient Sheikah Monks were meant to be wise and intelligent figures.

They entered the Shrine of Resurrection, and Maz Koshia’s hands briefly flashed blue as he tapped the pedestal. 

The door sealed shut. After a few moments, it began to ascend.

“In this here, and this now, I lack the time to assist you in full.” Maz Koshia turned to face him. Standing straight, he loomed tall, head and shoulders above Link. “But if there shall be a here and a now after this, then we may yet make use of it.”

The Shrine rumbled to a stop. The doors opened, again. Maz Koshia gestured to the pedestal. “Observe closely.”

He reached to it, and his fingers curled under the face of it. Link saw his muscles tense, and the Monk pulled hard. There was a noise, and the pedestal’s face popped off, revealing a series of glowing lines and connections.

Maz grasped the part of the plate that would take the Sheikah Slate, and twisted his fingers. It popped out, a small, thin, and slightly curved piece now in his hands.

“The pedestal typically requires an authorized Slate and explicit permission from myself to activate the elevator mechanism.” Maz Koshia explained. “But I am not awakened until after the Divine Beasts send a signal to me, and so, under normal circumstances, you would be required to free them before you could speak to me.”

“Under normal circumstances.” Link repeated, not missing Maz Koshia’s choice of words.

“There is a way to bypass the security mechanism and activate the elevator manually.” Maz Koshia said. He held the piece of Sheikah material up, gesturing. “This can suffice. You will need to repeat this, so memorize my actions.”

Link watched closely. Maz Koshia touched it to one of the glowing lines, and blue light began to flow through it. He touched the other end to another line, and there was a rumbling noise as the doors closed and the Shrine began to descend.

“Security mechanisms will awaken me when the elevator is activated.” Maz Koshia stated. “From there, you will be able to explain your situation to myself. I, in turn, will be able to supply you with all the assistance I can muster.”

Maz Koshia put the piece of material back into the plate, and then pushed the plate against the pedestal. It clicked as it slotted into place.

He stepped back. “Do as I did. You will need to be able to, in order to acquire my assistance early enough to help you.”

Link stepped up. Following what Maz Koshia had done wasn’t too hard. The plate was firmly held, so he had to really pull in order to get it out. The smaller piece came loose easier.

Link carefully touched the piece to the glowing line, and then twisted it to the other one. Another rumble, as the door closed, and the Shrine of Resurrection began to ascend again.

“Well done.” Maz Koshia stated. 

“Thank you.” Link said. He put the piece back into the plate, and then put the plate back on the pedestal. It took a bit of fiddling, but Link was able to slot it back into place just as the shrine stopped rumbling, again.

Maz Koshia gestured to the door, and Link followed him as they both made their way out.

Kass, it seemed, had already left. Maz Koshia walked to the edge of the cliff, and then lowered himself into a meditative position. Link heard the Monk take a deep breath as he took a seat beside him. The evening sun casts the plateau with a red glow.

“The path ahead of you is long.” Maz Koshia stated. “But I am sure that you were already aware of that.”

Link _had_ been clued in by now, yes. Link nodded.

“The path you have already walked has left its marks on you, I sense.” Maz Koshia continued. “But you have not surrendered to despair. You still seek an escape, but you have made progress, haven’t you?”

Maz Koshia was _really_ observant. Link nods.

“Tell me of your journey thus far.” Maz Koshia prompts, and Link does.

It’s well into the night by the time Link finishes. His throat feels a bit raw, since he really isn’t used to spending so much time talking, but he feels better by the end of it. Maz Koshia is a patient, calm presence, offering no judgement and simply accepting everything he had to say. Link, honestly, hadn’t realized how much he’d needed something like that.

“Thank you.” He eventually says. Maz Koshia simply nods, accepting it but not commenting on it.

“You have been through much.” Maz Koshia says, and Link can’t help but smile.

“Still more to go.” Link looks at the castle. Zelda is still waiting, and there will be loops after this one.

“I cannot do much, with so little time.” Maz Koshia states, repeating what he had said before. “But I may be able to ease your future journey.”

Link looks back at him. The Ancient Monk is facing the castle. 

“Return in one week.” Maz Koshia said, shifting to stand. “I should be finished by then.”

Link nods. Maz Koshia re-enters the Shrine of Resurrection.

Link looks back at the castle. Malice swirls around it. “Let’s go, Fi.”

Link and Fi are able to finish off the last of the Shrines in the time Maz Koshia had given them. There’s not much left to do, now, other than help out with a few last errands, and then fight Calamity Ganon.

Link returns, as directed, to the Shrine of Resurrection. He finds Maz Koshia inside the Shrine itself, in the space between the first and second doors.

There’s cables and wires strewn over the floor, and another pedestal that is of a different shape to the normal ones is alongside the left wall. The One-Hit Obliterator has been removed from its own pedestal, and is being used to prop up a large machine that to Link looks vaguely like a Guidance Stone with the stone pillar itself removed. A trio of Guardian Scouts sit, half-disassembled, next to it, and there is more cabling running from them to the other machine.

It’s very odd to see the normally neat and purposeful Ancient Shrine this... messy.

“I was not able to complete what I sought out to do.” Maz Koshia states. “But this should function in its place.”

Link stares at it. 

He has no idea what he’s looking at.

“I will require the assistance of the hallowed Spirit of the Master Sword.” He said.

Fi materializes. She looks at it for a few moments, and then turns to Maz Koshia. “This appears to be a data repository.”

That is not at all what Link might have guessed it was.

Maz Koshia bows, his hands splaying into a gesture that looks similar to the traditional Sheikah gesture for greeting honored guests. “It is.”

“What do you intend to do?” Fi asks.

“It is known that the Spirit of the Master Sword possesses the capacity to communicate with machines, and store raw data.” Maz Koshia explains. “I intend to take advantage of this, with your permission. If you store data from this time, then in the next time, I will be able to construct a machine for you to download it into.”

“This would thus avoid the necessity for Master Link to remember information and speak it to your other temporal selves.” Fi noted. “I approve.”

Maz Koshia’s head tipped in respect.

Link looked back and forth between the two of them. “Uh... What?”

“Organic memory is insufficient and volatile.” Fi turns to him. “Over time, it will change, and in turn, negatively affect our progress in breaking these loops. I do not have this limitation.”

“Any data acquired over your efforts can be recorded and stored for future times.” Maz Koshia continued. “And we will thus be able to build upon all previous information. To simplify, this machine-” He gestured towards the hodge-podge of Ancient Technology. “\- will be able to record the information of this time with the Spirit of the Sword. In the next time, and any future times after that, I will be able to build a machine to recover it, and thus heighten any and all progress made towards breaking these loops, simply because we will not have to rediscover any previous knowledge.”

Link blinked. “Wouldn’t I be able to just say what did and didn’t work?”

“Oral communication methods are ultimately poor at transmitting massive volumes of data.” Fi denied.

“Scientifically speaking, this is a more efficient method.” Maz Koshia stated.

Link shook his head. “Alright. Fi already agreed anyway.”

“Please place the Master Sword here.” He gestured to the center of the contraption.

Link does. 

It starts glowing. Ancient symbols started to dance across its surface, and waves of blue light shortly began to stream to the Master Sword.

“This data compression is the most efficient I have ever observed.” Fi says.

“You honour us with your praise, hallowed Spirit.” Maz Koshia bows.

After a few more seconds, the lights stop. 

“Storage complete.” Fi says. “Information saved.”

One of the Guardian Scouts sparks, and Link can smell a faintly acrid scent come from it.

“Just in time.” Maz Koshia notes.

Link picks up the Master Sword. He can’t feel anything different about it.

“I have done what I can in this here and now.” Maz Koshia says. “The next task lies with you. When you meet my self-of-then, you must tell them to construct a machine. Listen closely, as this will be specific.”

Link nods.

“Type-37 Revision-12 Otha-Kaso Interface.”

Link blinks.

“Type-37 Revision-12 Otha-Kaso Interface.” Link repeats. He has _no idea_ what that means.

“It will take at least a week to construct. I would advise telling the me-of-then, and then retrieving the Master Sword” Maz Koshia’s hands press together, and he bows one more time. “May you be successful in your endeavours, Courageous Hero.”

Link thanks him, and then he and Fi head to the castle.

Ganon. His army of Guardians. Zelda.

“That was _so interesting_!” Zelda says, eyes wide and shining with intrigue. “An Ancient Sheikah Monk, working with their technology! Oh Link, the _things_ that could be learned...”

He smiles at her. _Of course_ that’s what she’d focus on.

Kakariko. 

One day. Two. Three.

“What you did last time, you should always repeat.” Zelda tells him. “I’m not sure why, exactly, Fi started looping with you, but the only change from last time is that you two were channelling magic into each other. I can’t say for certain that, if you don’t do it this time, she will continue looping, and by that same measure, I can’t say for certain that if she stops, whether she’ll remember the previous loop, or go back to no knowledge at all.”

The very thought of that is too terrible to contemplate. Link nods.

“Now we start experimenting.” She says, after. “Use your time magic, and see if you can’t push it back while also channeling magic into the Master Sword.”

He nods. She hugs him.

11:59.

White runs under his skin. The _something else_ begins to push.

Link pushes back.

12:00:00.

It’s weaker than before.

12:00:05.

A drop of sweat runs down his cheek.

12:00:10.

He has to force himself to breathe regularly.

12:00:15.

He’s not going to be able to stop this.

12:00:20.

But he has gotten further than he’s ever had before.

12:00:25.

Time begins to stutter. 

12:00:26.

The seconds lengthen.

12:00:27.

Zelda stares, hope in her eyes, but silent.

12:00:28.

Keep going.

12:00:29.

_Keep going._

12:00:30.

It slips.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

A whole thirty seconds. It’s so much more than he’s ever gotten.

Link gets up. “I need to tell you something, Zelda.”

Explanation. Door one. Door two. A wall of magic.

Fi’s chimes.

“ _I am here, Master Link._ ” She says. Clearer now than before. “ _Do not rush_.”

Different words to last time. She’s back.

_She’s back._

He lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Link itches to go there, but he’s got something else to do first.

Link turns around and walks back to the chamber.

He pries the plate off of the pedestal, pulls out the catch, and touches one line, and then the next. The doors shut, and the rumbling starts a moment later.

Link waits, patiently.

“You have woken only recently.” Maz Koshia’s words appear in his mind. “And yet, you are aware of how to bypass the security mechanisms that I designed. Either Goddess Hylia has graced you with a blessing of knowledge, or you have met a terrible fate indeed.”

Link breathes in, and out. It wasn’t the _exact_ phrase, but it was close enough.

He doesn’t allow it to stop him, though. It’s the beginning of a new loop, and there are still so many things to do.

“It’s a long story.” Link says.


	11. Chapter 11

“I see.” Maz Koshia says. 

Link gives a bare-bones explanation. It still takes more than half an hour, just because of how long the story is by now.

“I will assist you.” Maz Koshia says, and Link can’t help but feel relief.

“Thank you.”

Link passes on the message from Maz Koshia’s past self. The current Maz Koshia gives a considering ‘hmm’ when he mentions the Type-37 Revision-12 Otha-Kaso Interface. Link still isn’t sure what it is, but mentioning it has, so far, been the only thing that’s caused the current Maz Koshia to make an audible sound.

“I can see what my self-of-then is attempting to accomplish.” Maz Koshia states. “I should be able to complete it in a week. I will inform you when it is done.”

Link nods.

Maz Koshia has nothing more to say, after that, and so Link leaves the Shrine of Resurrection and gets on with things.

He goes to Korok Forest, and retrieves the Master Sword. He and Fi have a quick conversation with the Deku Tree, who is surprised to see him so quickly, and somewhat more surprised to see him pick up the Master Sword with his currently drained state.

Link and Fi go back to Hyrule Field, because the plan they had last time is still a good plan this time. They acquire a few Guardians, and then go to Kakariko. 

They’re on the way to Hateno when Maz Koshia contacts them again. 

“I am done with my work.” He informs. “We will proceed when you return.”

Link activates the nearest shrine, Fi has the Guardians hide somewhere they won’t be found, and then they use the Sheikah Slate to travel back to the Shrine of Resurrection.

“The security mechanism has been deactivated.” Maz Koshia says, right as Link is about to pull the plate off of the pedestal. “You do not need to bypass it.”

Link puts the Sheikah Slate into the pedestal, and the elevator descends.

Through the ‘window’ of the elevator, it’s immediately obvious that Maz Koshia has made some additions. There are a series of wires and cables hanging from the central shaft in the room, connecting a series of strange machines together. The Guidance Stone at the center is glowing, Ancient script running down it, but there’s a funnel on top of the pedestal beneath it that catches the drops of glowing blue liquid and channels it to a basin. Five more cables run into the basin, and then drag along the floor to a wider platform that looks _startlingly_ like the Master Sword’s platform in the Korok Forest, except made of Ancient Sheikah materials, instead. 

There was another Guidance Stone, which was larger but immediately familiar because the Master Cycle Zero was sitting on top of it. Link had not been aware that it could be removed from the rest of the floating platform, but there it was.

“I have not had time to clean up.” Maz Koshia stated, breaking Link from his observations.

Maz Koshia was seated on another platform, which floated in the air above a series of small pillars that glowed. There were several spokes and other pieces of Ancient Technology attached to it. Maz Koshia himself was holding something large, vaguely circular, and glowing.

None of which was all that unusual by Ancient Sheikah Technology standards, admittedly.

Link shakes his head. _Not_ the time to be distracted.

“Master Sword goes there?” He checked, just to make sure.

Maz Koshia nodded. “Whenever you are ready.”

“Fi?” Link asked, stepping over to the platform.

“I am prepared, Master Link.” Fi reported. “Please proceed.”

Link drew the Master Sword, pointed it downwards, and then carefully put it in place. Lines of blue light shimmered across the platform, and the Master Sword itself flashed. Link saw Fi’s spirit reach out and connect with the Ancient Sheikah nothingness.

“Connection established.” Fi stated. “Beginning download.”

The Master Sword flashed, again. The lines of light on the platform pulsed, radiating away from the blade. Link noticed the pulses of light travelling down the cables, towards the pool of blue liquid. The pool shimmered in a strange fashion as the pulses of light flowed into it.

“Download complete.” Fi said, after a few seconds.

Maz Koshia shifted, holding the... well, it was probably the Interface, now that Link thought about it. He held the Interface out, and his hands flashed with Ancient energies.

The pool of liquid trembled, and then began to stream upwards, through the air. It went towards the interface, and enveloped it, spreading over its surface and seeping in.

Lines of light traced themselves up Maz Koshia’s skin. There were hundreds of tiny lines, building and interweaving with each other, highlighting muscles and nerves. They went to his head, and the Sheikah Emblem of the cloth covering his face lit up blue.

Several more seconds passed. Maz Koshia held still for the entirety of it.

But, the light eventually stopped, and Maz Koshia placed the Interface down.

“I see.” He said.

Link drew the Master Sword again, putting the blade back in its sheath.

“There is much work to do.” Maz Koshia stood up. “For both of us.”

He hopped down, leaving the platform behind.

“The Master Cycle Zero is yours.” Maz Koshia gestured to the other Guidance Stone.

“You’re just giving it to me?” Link asked.

“You have already proven yourself to me.” Maz Koshia stated. “Multiple times, at that. It will serve you well, especially with the tasks I am about to send you on.”

Link raised an eyebrow. He put the Sheikah Slate into the Guidance Stone, and the Master Cycle Zero disintegrated as the Rune prepared to distill itself. “Tasks?”

Something new to do? 

“Yes.” Maz Koshia nodded. “Ten thousand years ago, before Calamity rose, Goddess Hylia directed the Hero of that time to recover objects that survived from previous Eras. Some were artifacts, which my fellows and I studied in order to advance our technology. Some were tools, which the Hero put to use. Some were gifted to the Royal Family, as they were of significant cultural and historical value. A few, however, were deemed particularly dangerous, either through their power or what they represented, and so were sealed away within vaults.”

He held out his hand. Swirling blue lines began to appear, exactly the same as the ones that appeared when Link used the Sheikah Slate to transport himself. They coalesced above Maz Koshia’s hand, forming a small stone tablet that glowed with an orange and blue Sheikah Emblem.

“This is the key to those vaults.”

He held it out, and Link took it, looking it over.

“They may be useful to you.” Maz Koshia straightened. “I would advise, however, that you regain more of your strength before you attempt to retrieve them.”

Link nodded. “I’ll get the Divine Beasts, first.”

Maz Koshia nods. His fingers lit up with yet more Ancient energy, and he tapped the Sheikah Slate.

It beeped, and Link looked at it as the map started scrolling. Three markers appeared, all of them over currently unmarked space, but Link had seen the full map often enough to know, roughly, where they corresponded to.

“The Forgotten Temple, Arbiter’s Grounds... and the mouth of Dracozu Lake?” He asked. 

“Yes.” Maz Koshia stated. “The entrances to each are hidden underground. With the key, they will reveal themselves. I would further advise that you retrieve the three items in that particular order. Or, at the very least, that you go to Dracozu Lake last.”

“That sounds particularly... dire.” Link noted.

“The first is not particularly dangerous. It is an item forged of Light.” Maz Koshia stated. “The second could be dangerous, if misused. It comes from another realm, and contains powerful magic.”

“And the third?” Link asked.

“The third...” Maz Koshia paused. Link heard, after a moment, a sigh. An actual, physical, weary sigh. “I do not know what it is. The Hero was the one who retrieved it. He did not allow any to see it, and refused to speak of it to anyone. Not to us, not to his companions, and not even to the Royal Family. The Hero constructed the vault alone, with no other input. The Hero further instructed that only another Hero was to ever remove it, and only if they judge the need to be great.”

“That sounds very dangerous.” Link said. “Are you sure I should be retrieving it?”

Maz Koshia was silent, for a few seconds. “No.” He admitted.

Link blinked, surprised at such a blunt statement.

“I am not. But... your situation brings with itself a great need. I will leave the decision to you.”

Link swallowed. “Alright.”

Maz Koshia regarded him for a few more moments, before turning away. “I must prepare for future events. It will take me at least two months to construct the machines I will need to examine you, and this spell that has you repeating time.”

Link blinked, again, taken aback by the sudden change in topic. “Wait, what?”

“As you may recall, Courageous Hero, my past self told you that he lacked the time to assist you in full.”

“Yes..?” Link said, slowly.

“I am many things.” Maz Koshia stated. “A Monk, blessed by the Goddess Hylia. A Sheikah, sworn to assist the Hero. Most importantly to you at the moment, however; I am a scientist, and I have been given a project that spans timelines.”

The Monk’s head turned, and he looked at Link over his shoulder.

“I am **very** excited.”

Oh. 

Now, this? _This_ , he was familiar with. He’d seen it before in Purah, in Robbie, in the Princess, and in all their assistants. The _curiosity_.. 

He was _just like them._

“Goddess.” Link sighed. “Zelda is going to ask you so many questions.”

The Monk made a noise. It was slow, breathy, and it took Link a few moments to recognize it.

Laughter.

“I will happily assist her.” The Monk told him. “I will remodel this facility. Please return here with her, after you defeat Calamity. Or earlier, if you have questions of your own.”

“Sure.” He said. “It’ll only take a few hours, after Calamity.”

“Hours?”

Link shrugged. “She’ll want a bath, before she gets here.”

“I will ensure that this facility is habitable.” Maz Koshia turned to him. “The water will be cleaner than anywhere else you could reach on short notice.”

“It will still take an hour or two to travel by the Skywatcher.” Link shrugged.

“Skywatcher?” Maz Koshia questioned. “Ah. You are unaware that you can use the Sheikah Slate.”

Link blinked. Honestly, it felt like he was doing that a lot in this conversation. “That can transport more than one person?”

“Yes. It will transport any being that is in contact with it, even if there are multiple, so long as all parties wish to be transported. There are a multitude of measures that will prevent it from activating if something would go wrong, so it is secure and safe.”

Link thought back to all the time they’d taken, riding horses and the Master Cycle Zero and the Guardians.

All that time, and they could have used the Slate?

“I didn’t know that.” He said.

He’d never even thought about it.

On the other hand, Zelda had never suggested it, and she was the smart one between the two of them. Did she not know it was possible? Did she have an idea, and just wasn’t willing to test it?

Or maybe she spent too much time thinking about his situation to think about things like that.

“Alright.” He shakes his head. 

Link bows, splaying his fingers while pressing his hands together. Maz Koshia’s head tilts, slightly, at the Sheikah gesture, but then he shifts and returns it with another of his own. Link hadn’t been _certain_ it would be recognized, but if the bow Maz Koshia had given Fi in the last time was any indication, then the traditional Sheikah gestures hadn’t changed too much over time.

This particular one is a gesture of thanks. Deeper than typical, and reserved for those considered friends. Maz Koshia returning it was an acceptance of thanks, and since this was the first time Link had done so, an acceptance to an offer of friendship.

Link and Maz Koshia straighten at the same time. No more words need to be said.

He’s got things to do, now. Something new, as well.

Best to get on with it.


	12. Chapter 12

Link gets on with it. He visits Hateno and Purah, and loses a Guardian to her again. He goes to Zora’s Domain, and frees Vah Ruta. He goes to Akkala, loses another Guardian to Robbie, and then heads to Death Mountain to free Vah Rudania.

Tabantha follows, and Vah Medoh settles on its perch. Link heads south from there, passing through the Gerudo Highlands, infiltrating the Yiga hideout, retrieving the Thunder Helm, and then moving into the desert. Gerudo Town and Vah Naboris finish the route, and Link has, by then, done about half of the shrines.

He’s barely touched Hebra, hasn’t gone to Faron at all, and skipped out on a few of the more difficult to reach shrines. Still, this ought to be enough to at least head to the first vault.

Habit nearly keeps him moving into Faron. Link normally goes to the Forgotten Temple last, simply because that’s where the Monks leave their gift. 

But Maz Koshia’s suggestion still holds firm in his mind, and so Link goes to the Forgotten Temple. A whole bunch of corrupted and decayed Guardians, then the shrine at the back, and nothing happens.

Link checks the map. The objective marker is in the room before. Link goes to it, and then recalls the key he’d been given.

It materializes in his hands, glowing faintly. Things continue to not happen.

Link holds it up, and the glow dims, slightly. He moves it down, and it brightens. Forwards and backwards both make it dim.

“You may have to move it to a specific location.” Fi suggests.

The glow is strongest when the key is touching the ground, but aside from that...

Nothing.

“Do you sense anything, Fi?” He asked.

The Master Sword pulses. “I am detecting a response underneath us.” She states. “But it is faint.”

There’s no way of getting further down, as far as Link is aware. No tunnels, or destroyable walls. 

Link grunts, staring at the tiles.

The tiles.

Link hums.

Link pulls out a dagger, and wedges it into the edge of the tile. He twists, and with the dagger as a lever, the tile comes up.

There’s another piece of stone underneath. And there’s a depression in it that Link quickly finds is perfectly sized for the key he’d been given.

He slots it in place, and light pulses across the stone.

The ground rumbles, and Link checks the ceiling to make sure that it isn’t about to come down on top of him. Some dirt and dust does fall, but the temple itself seems stable.

Something pushes up from underneath the stone. Another Ancient shrine entrance, though this one is different in design to any he’s seen before. It’s more cylindrical than any of the others, and there are a series of glowing symbols etched upon it.

They’re not just flowing lines. These are actual symbols. They’re arranged in a grid, some of them repeat, and Link is struck with a vague sense of familiarity.

“Can you read this, Fi?” He asked.

“It is general information, Master Link.” Fi stated. “Ancient Sheikah does not translate exactly into modern Hyrulean Common, but the intended meaning conveys that the vault was sealed upon order of the King. It further states that trespassers will be punished harshly, but the authority that it mentions will mete out this punishment disintegrated more than nine thousand five hundred years ago. Additionally, you are the Hero of Courage, and therefore occupy a higher position of authority regardless.”

“I do?” He asks. “Does that actually mean anything?”

“Other than that you may proceed at your leisure, no.”

Oh well.

Link steps up, pulling out the Sheikah Slate. Onto the pedestal it goes, and so the shrine doors open.

Inside is an elevator.

Link steps on it, and it begins to descend.

The inside is... not too dissimilar to a normal shrine, actually. Ancient material walls, Ancient material floors, glowing ceiling...

It’s a small corridor from the elevator. It isn’t that wide, but a Guardian could still walk down it without having to draw its legs in. At the end of the corridor is a door with a glowing orange symbol upon it. 

It’s actually _not_ a Sheikah symbol, which surprises him. Instead, it’s the Royal Crest.

Which makes sense, he supposed, if it was the ancient King who had ordered it sealed.

The door is large. It reminds him a little of the door at the entrance of the Shrine of Resurrection, but even more complex. There’s a circular portion, three central pillars going through it, several interlocking parts, and a grid of lasers that block access for anything larger than his fist.

There’s no way around it. Nowhere else to go, other than back up the elevator. 

Just in front of the door is a slightly raised circular platform, which is glowing blue.

“That is an identification platform, Master Link.” Fi reported. “All you need to do is stand on it.”

Link does.

It flashes once he’s on it, and Link hears a slight humming noise.

“Recognized: Spirit of Courage. Welcome, Hero.” A mechanical voice states. It reminds him of Cherry, but Link doesn’t have long to think about that.

The lasers flick off, there one moment and gone the next. The circular portion of the door shifts, and one of the pillars unlocks, sliding down. Some of the interlocking machinery begins to move, and then the circular portion rotates again, with the second pillar coming loose. The third follows only a few moments later, when the circle makes one last rotation.

The door splits into three sections, receding into the floor and both walls.

The pulse of _Light_ that came as the door opened was almost a slap in the face for how obvious, how _blunt_ , it was.

“Normally, I have to complete challenges to open things like that.” Link murmured, stepping off the plate.

“These vaults were likely not intended to be re-opened at all, Master Link.” Fi pointed out. “A test would be pointless, considering that.”

Link nodded.

The corridor behind the vault door was a bit longer than the entrance door. It opened into a wider room, with nothing inside of it except for a pedestal in the center.

And the sword atop of it, of course.

The sword was a large one. It was taller than Link himself, and coloured pure white. The handle was long, broken up into two parts by a flare of material around the middle. It wasn’t directly connected to the blade, either. Two small, curved pieces joined the two, with a small white orb floating between them. The guard also connected the blade and handle, and the guard was large and elaborate, curving backwards and curling on itself. The entire thing shone with a brilliant luster.

It seemed, by appearance, a piece meant for display more than it was meant for use.

But Link could see more than most. There was _power_ in the weapon, a Light not much weaker than the Master Sword itself. Its luster was no meagre enchantment; it was true holy power.

“That is the Sword of Six Sages.” Fi stated. Link could hear a hint of surprise in her voice. “I had not realized it had survived to this age.”

“You know it?” Link asked, moving closer.

“It was forged in the Era of Twilight by the eponymous Sages.” Fi elaborated. “The Sages intended to use it in order to slay the Demon King Ganondorf, but were unsuccessful in the attempt.”

Link licked his lips. His throat suddenly felt dry. “Ganondorf.”

Fi turned to him. She seemed... apologetic. “Calamity Ganon did not always hold the form it currently does, Master Link. Before Calamity, it was Ganondorf. Before Ganondorf, it was Demise.”

Link grit his teeth. “So those old scrolls were true.” He forced himself to breathe properly.

Ganondorf. Ganon. Calamity Ganon. Not hard to see the connection. And yet, while he hated Calamity with _every fiber of his being_ , the name Ganondorf still inspired...

An emotion that wasn’t all too much weaker than what he felt towards Calamity.

“Your other incarnations have clashed with Ganondorf multiple times.” Fi’s words broke him of his thoughts, and he blinked at her. 

She looked at him, carefully. With the amount of time they’d spent together, now, she was good at reading him. She’d probably known what he’d been thinking. “Calamity Ganon is a relatively new form. Only your immediately previous incarnation faced it. Even then, he did still face Ganondorf. Master Link... of all incarnations of the Hero, you are the one who maintains the most impressions of his previous lives. What you are feeling now is likely the result of that.”

Link sighed.

He reached out, and picked up the Sword of Six Sages.

“I’m grateful for that.” He said, holding the blade in front of him. “Because it let me know you. But, sometimes... It’s not convenient.”

Fi nodded.

Link flipped the blade over. The other side was exactly the same. He poked the orb that floated in the center of the two pieces, but it didn’t move.

It was a beautiful blade. Powerful. _Holy_. But... “It’s empty.” He can’t help but note. “The only thing inside is power.”

“It was a weapon intended for an execution.” Fi stated. “It had no need for a spirit. Even if, ultimately, that allowed it to be used against the Hero of Twilight.”

It had been used against one his past selves? Hmm.

“I like you a lot better.” He said. “I’m not sure how we can use this, but I’m sure we’ll find something a holy-imbued sword is good for.” He tapped at the Sheikah Slate, and the Sword of Six Sages disintegrated into glowing blue strands before being sucked into it.

Fi’s lips shifted, briefly, into a small smile. “There are still two more vaults to access, Master Link.”

Indeed there were.

Next on the list was Arbiter’s Grounds. 

Getting there?

Not too hard. He’d already helped Tera when he’d been in Gerudo Desert last, and there was a shrine underneath the same giant skeleton as Tera’s Fairy Fountain. There was usually also a few Sand Seals nearby, attracted by the magic of Tera’s Fairy Fountain, and, perhaps more importantly, the water that flowed underneath it.

Dealing with the Molduga that lurked in the area?

Only slightly harder. Moldugas, like a lot of things, were vulnerable to lightning. Link had Electric Arrows to spare, and, failing that, there was always the much more powerful option of Urbosa’s Fury.

Actually getting to the vault?

Link stared at the sand underneath his feet.

“I should have brought a shovel.” He sighed, looking up. “If Revali ever finds out about this, I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“Master Link?” Fi asked.

Link crouched down, and called upon Revali’s Gale. The windstorm burst into existence underneath him, and Link was forced to turn his head away as sand was blasted into his face, his hair, and his outfit. 

It was going to take _days_ to get rid of it all, but that was a better prospect than trying to dig down in this heat. It wasn’t at all why Revali had given him his Gale, but it was perfectly good at displacing the sand.

It still took several minutes of sustained channelling for it to unearth another block of stone. The key kept getting slightly brighter the closer he got, and Link wasted no time slotting it into place lest the sand start filling in the hole he’d made.

The vault’s entrance pushed itself out of the sand. It was, in terms of design, the same as the first vault, but Link eyed the symbols, because while most of them were the same, a few weren’t.

“Fi?” He asked.

“The text is similar to the previous vault, Master Link.” Fi reported. “With the exception that this vault was ordered sealed by the Princess, rather than the King.”

Link entered. The inside of this vault was the same as the previous, right down to the door and the platform in front of it. It, too, recognized the Spirit of the Hero, and welcomed Link.

Unlike the previous vault, which had radiated Light, however, the feeling that emerged from this one reminded him, distinctly, of the two stone helms that were currently in his possession. Not Light, but not quite Dark, either.

Even the design of the inner vault was the same. A pedestal, except instead of a sword on top, there was a dark, spiky object, lined with orange and vague menace. It was a tiny thing, and it could probably fit in the palm of his hand, but just looking at it had something within him knowing it was a bad idea.

“That is another object of the Twilight Era.” Fi reported. “A Shadow Crystal. The power of Twilight was once unleashed upon the land of Hyrule, and cursed those who touched it. Most became nothing more than wandering spirits, but the Hero of Twilight, through the Triforce of Courage, proved resistant, and so took the form of an animal.”

“A wolf.” Link said, staring at the crystal with narrowed eyes. The word came to mind the moment she’d mentioned it. It was the same feeling as when he’d looked at Fi and just _knew_ her name.

“Yes.” Fi agrees. “This Shadow Crystal was created by the Twili Usurper King, Zant. It contains the power of Twilight, and was cursed as to be unremovable. I can break its curse, Master Link. The Hero of Twilight used the Master Sword for this purpose, but also kept the Shadow Crystal as his wolf form proved useful. I would advise not directly touching it. Time does not appear to have affected its magic significantly, and if you touch it, you will likely be transformed. If you wish to explore this possibility, you should wait until you have somewhere safe to experiment.”

Link nodded, accepting the advice. He tapped at the Sheikah Slate, and pulled out a pair of tongs he usually used for cooking.

He poked the Shadow Crystal. 

It tipped onto its side.

When nothing else happened, he grasped it in the tongs, and then held it near the Slate. It absorbed it without problem.

“Alright.” Link said. “To Dracozu Lake.”


	13. Chapter 13

Dracozu Lake was in Faron, of course, which Link hadn’t yet visited. The Spring of Courage was only just ahead of Dracozu Lake, inside the Zonai ruins, so Link timed the journey to when Farosh was just emerging from Lake Hylia, and acquired a scale from the Dragon, and then made a point of stopping by a stable to acquire a shovel.

The forests surrounding Dracozu River was full of monsters, but monsters posed so little of a threat to him by now that Link was honestly more bothered by how unpleasantly humid it was. Even the Lizalfos that made their home in the ruins of Dracozu Lake were barely worth the mention.

Link cleared it out, offered Farosh’s scale to the Spring of Courage, activated the shrine, and then went back out to the ruins.

Link pulled out the key he’d been given. Its glow was the faintest he’d ever seen, and he wandered around for a little bit before he found the spot where it was strongest. Even then, it was still weaker than either of the times before.

It was on top of a mound of dirt, of course, so Link sighed and pulled out his shovel.

It took nearly two hours to dig down deep enough that the shovel finally hit a stone piece. Another ten minutes after that before Link managed to get most of the dirt and clay off of it, scraping it off the depression in the stone until the key actually fit. 

The ground rumbled. 

The entrance that appeared was not like the previous two. The other two had been smooth and more circular.

This one was more of a rounded rectangle. Like a shrine, it had an extended front, with the back portion swooping upwards and containing the elevator. Unlike them, the back portion had a top that tapered into a small spike. It was made almost entirely of black Ancient material, with not a single glowing line or symbol to be seen. There were no etchings, no marks, nothing to indicate what it was or what its purpose was. 

The only break in its uniform colour and design was a plate of grey stone at its base. 

There wasn’t even a _door_.

Link had never seen Ancient technology so utterly bereft of... _anything_.

“Was the Hero of ten thousand years ago not a designer?” He asked.

“He was.” Fi stated. “During the time that he wielded me, he was both an artist and a builder. He was taught the principles of Ancient Technology, Master Link. He had a fondness for symbology, and his work usually included the Mark of Farore. I was not present when this vault was constructed, but if he designed it to include no ornamentation at all, then he must have considered this an extremely serious matter. Please be wary, Master Link.”

Link stepped onto the platform. It didn’t flash. It didn’t rumble. It didn’t do anything that Link could sense at all.

But after a second, the wall in front of him began to dissolve, falling apart into blue lines and sinking into the floor. The elevator was revealed.

Link frowned, but stepped onto it.

Down it descended.

There was nothing that could be seen, on the way down. The elevator continued down a long, plain shaft, and it wasn’t until he got to the end that it opened into a corridor. The walls and floor were blank, black material, while the ceiling was a single, solid glowing piece that provided light.

The corridor opened into a wide, circular room, much the same as the corridor itself. Blank walls, tall glowing ceiling, but instead of a floor, there was an endless black abyss. A circular platform hung in the middle, with a long walkway connecting the corridor to the platform.

Link stopped just before he stepped onto it, and looked around the room again.

Large, open, circular room.

Platform suspended over the abyss. 

Tall ceiling.

Yeah, he knew what this was.

“I suppose one of them had to have a test involved.” He said to Fi.

He walked forwards. The moment he stepped onto the circular platform, the walkway disintegrated, flowing away, while another plate materialized to cover the entrance.

“Normally, though, it’s not the Hero who’s making them.” He noted. He looked around, then leaned slightly over the edge of the platform to stare down into the abyss. “I guess at least one of us had to do it. Will it be Guardians? A puzzle? Mazes?”

“What need is so great that you have come here?” A voice asked.

Link straightened, turning around. In the center of the platform, blue strings began to coalesce, and a figure took shape.

It was a machine, though different to any Ancient machine that Link had seen so far. Tall and thin, shaped in the form of a man. It was covered in smooth, unadorned plates, meshing together over each other. It had no face, just a blank plate with a burning orange cross marking it. Three small spokes on its head were the extent of its ornamentation, sticking up and to both sides.

“That is a Simulacrum.” Fi reported. “It is a high-quality robot with advanced physical capabilities. They are normally more adorned than this.”

Link nodded, and stepped forwards. “Time is looping.” He says. “And I am trying to find a way to break the loop. The Monk Maz Koshia informed me of this place, and I came here in search of something that would help.”

“Do you know what is contained here?”

“No.” Link admitted. “This is my first visit.”

The Simulacrum shifted, widening it’s stance. Link recognized the motion, and followed suit.

“Hero.” The voice addresses him. “Your past self sealed it away for good reason. Its power is immense. It cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. I judge your need to be great. You must prove to me that you are strong enough to keep it safe.”

Link nodded.

The Simulacrum’s hand shifted, and a glowing blue blade materialized instantly. Much like the rest of it, it was oddly simple in form, just a single long blade that lacked any complexity.

It didn’t wait. Link hadn’t even drawn his blade, and it dashed forwards with speed that reminded him of Thunderblight. This machine, however, was more straightforward, dashing right at him rather than trying to confuse him, trying to overwhelm him with raw and fast efficiency.

Link was impressed.

But impressed doesn’t mean he finds it challenging.

The Master Sword left a trail of white flakes in its wake as Link deflected the Ancient weapon, forcing it wide. The Simulacrum was _strong_ , more power behind its blow than any Lynel, but Link was used to so much worse.

It adapted instantly, leaning into the deflected strike as it brought a knee up, aiming for his stomach. 

Time slowed. Link breathed out. 

Link stepped forwards, past the incoming knee, and threw his fist. His glove glowed white as it slammed into the Simulacrum’s sternum. Its body jerked, and Link heard and saw the cracks spread across the plates, a few pieces slowly beginning to fly free.

Link let go of time, and the Simulacrum flew back, spinning in mid air before it landed on its hands and feet and only barely managed to avoid sliding right off the platform. It stood straight with a smooth, fast movement, pausing, briefly, as it regarded him with new and well-deserved warriness.

One of the plates of its chest fell off, bouncing on the ground. Underneath it was Ancient machinery, glowing orange and blue.

Link stared at it, allowing it the initiative. If it wished to test him, then it wouldn’t find him wanting.

A moment passed, and then the Simulacrum’s other arm snapped upwards. A bolt of blue light lanced out, and Link shifted. His shield flicked, and the bolt was sent back at the one that fired it.

The Simulacrum let itself fall backwards, the bolt missing it by a hair’s breadth. Its sword vanished, and it pushed itself to the side with another quick movement. Its arm twisted, and more bolts of light lanced out. Link responded with more reflections, sending one of the bolts low to the ground and the other into the air.

It pushed itself off the ground in order to dodge the first, and folded in order to avoid the second. 

Link took the opportunity, and flung himself forwards, now that it was in the air and couldn’t dodge.

Its sword rematerialized, but Link flowed around it. The Master Sword came up, and Link wasted no time in slamming it into the Simulacrum. His target was the chest, already exposed, and his aim was true.

The Master Sword pierced the Simulacrum’s chest, and it spasmed, limbs jerking back and forth. Link took a few more steps, and then lifted the Master Sword before angling it downwards. There was a slight scraping noise, and the Simulacrum fell backwards, into the abyss below.

Link breathes in, then out.

A noise behind him had him turning. More glowing blue lines were coalescing.

Two more Simulacrums materialized. One stepped forwards, and both of its hands ignited into swords. The other went behind it, energy charging as it prepared to fire.

The attacks were simultaneous. The melee Simulacrum dashed forwards while the ranged one opened fire. 

Link twisted to avoid the shots, and the Master Sword swept left and right as he engaged the other at the same time. The two did not leave him any opportunity to counterattack.

They were learning, Link couldn’t help but note. The melee Simulacrum did not make the same mistake of its predecessor, and kept both blades coming in at different angles and different speeds. The ranged one was punishingly accurate with its fire, shots passing only the tiniest distance away from its fellow, angled and planned beforehand to close the holes that its attacks left.

Unfortunately for them, Link had a wealth of options. 

Daruk’s Protection flashed into place. The warrior’s sword scraped over it, deflecting. A shot from the ranger was reflected, and it had to shift in order to dodge, providing a brief respite. 

That was all Link needed. He stepped forwards, allowing Daruk’s protection to fade, and swung the Master Sword. Her edge cleaved through one of the warrior’s arms, severing it, and Link followed through with a shield bash that pushed it between him and the next shot of the ranger. 

Link pulled the Master Sword back, and its glow intensified as he pushed more raw magic into it. He swept it, and a wave of light swept out, the sword beam augmented with his own power.

The ranger managed to duck underneath it. The warrior was split clean in half from its stomach, upper and lower parts of the body both falling to the floor. 

The ranger was already recovering, but it was far too late.

Link raised his arm, his hand curling, and snapped his fingers.

Urbosa’s Fury **booms** , and the lightning bolt strikes the Simulacrum in the same instant. No opportunity to dodge, no opportunity to react. 

The simulacrum collapses, sparking, to the floor. It’s not destroyed, but lightning, electricity, has never played nice with Ancient Technology.

Link doesn’t allow it the opportunity to recover. A few quick steps, a swing of the Master Sword, and its head comes off.

A few moments pass, and then both Simulacrums disintegrate into blue streams.

“You are stronger than I anticipated.” The voice states.

“I’ve fought Calamity twenty seven times, now. After that demon...” Link sighs. “They’re not bad.” He offers.

But they’re not good enough for him, either. 

“I judge you capable.” The voice says. “What is contained within this vault is yours, now. Protect it, Hero.”

More swirls of blue herald the materialization of a pair of walkways, and the disintegration of two spots on the wall. The path backwards is revealed, but so is the path forwards.

Link continues.

The path forwards takes him down a set of a corridor and then a set of stairs. The vault door itself is a massive thing, simple in design but locked tightly. 

It opens piece by piece, over the course of thirty seconds or so. It’s not just the one door, because there’s another behind it, and then another behind that.

It might be a bit too much.

The third door cracks open.

The _power_ that slams into him is a physical force, and Link wheezes as the air is driven from his lungs.

‘ _Or-_ ’ Link thinks. ‘ _\- it might not have been enough._ ’

Link hasn’t even set eyes on whatever the source is, and it feels _overwhelming_.

The Master Sword pulses upon his back. Fi’s chimes sound in his ear, offer her wordless support, and Link forces himself to breathe. The first step is difficult, and the one after is only slightly easier, but it _is_ easier.

Behind the vault doors is a short corridor that leads to an open, unadorned room. A pedestal in the center, much like the other two.

Atop of it...

Link stops in front of the pedestal.

Atop of it is a mask.

Just the sight of it had every hair on his body standing on end. It made him want to shiver, with goosebumps breaking out all over him. It filled him with an emotion that was half terror and half confidence.

By appearances, it wasn’t much more than a simple mask. It showed a Hylian’s face, with white hair and blank white eyes. The forehead had a blue marking on it, shaped like a V. There were two red markings underneath each eye.

Except _no_ , that wasn’t _at all_ all that could be said about it! The mask was familiar, with the curve of its jaw and the size of its nose and the shape of its eyes, because Link had seen all of them before, and he usually saw them in pictures on the Sheikah Slate, and more commonly, in his own reflection.

 _The mask had **his** face_.

If only _that_ had been the end of it. But, no, more than _that_ -

The _power_ that flowed from it. 

It was dark. Not _evil_ , not like malice and Malice was. It’s not _cruel_. This darkness was something else entirely, echoing with sheer _focus_ and an unending, unrelenting _drive_. It felt **Fierce** , and it was terrible to behold.

And yet, _more than **that**_ -

It was **Divine**. True Divinity, the power of a Deity hosted, somehow, impossibly, within a simple mask.

Link has seen Zelda surrounded by the golden glow of Hylia’s sacred power. He has seen her banish Calamity from the world, creating a golden star that turns night to day. He has seen her rip open the limitless Malice that covers the demon. He knows that she has kept it enchained for a hundred years. 

The power of the mask was, if anything, greater still.

Link swallows.

And he knew its name. He knew its name like he knew Fi’s name. He knew its name like he’d known what form one of his predecessors had been cursed to take.

A Hero had found this thing, once. Used it. 

“Fierce Deity.” He says.

The power _shifted_. Time itself may as well have stopped for how completely Link froze in that moment.

There was _attention_ upon him.

More than just power. There was a _presence_ in that mask. 

It regarded him, for a moment. And Link feels...

_Recognition._

It knows him, just as much as he knows it.

Contained, the voice had said. Locked away in a vault, Maz Koshia had thought. Sealed, his immediate predecessor might have hoped.

The Fierce Deity Mask is in his hands. Link honestly cannot remember picking it up. He can’t remember when he took that step closer, to bring it within grasping distance. He can’t remember reaching out at all. There’s just a skip in his memory, from when he was staring at it to now that he’s holding it.

Despite its terrible power, it feels warm in his hands, the same way that Zelda’s golden power feels warm. The curiously deep kind that banishes any hint of chill, but never quite crosses the line into being hot. 

It makes his heart beat slower and his breath deepen. Link would like to think that the reaction comes from the similarity between the two. He’d like to think that it definitely isn’t just because of the mask, and its terrible, familiar power.

~~But that's just Link lying to himself.~~

Contained. Locked away. Sealed.

It might have been a terribly funny joke. If the subject wasn’t so serious. If Link wasn’t at the end of it.

Contained. Hah.

It wasn’t contained. It had _never_ been contained. 

It had only ever been _waiting_. 


	14. Chapter 14

Link breathed in, and out. Simple and slow.

“What should I be feeling, Fi?” He asked.

“Master Link?” Fi asked.

Link sighed. “A mask that has _my face_ , holding the powers of a Deity. And I know what it’s called, so one of the past Heroes must also have found it. It recognizes me, Fi. And I recognize it.”

Fi shifted. “It is only a 85% match, Master Link.” She offered.

“And if you took away the markings and filled in the eyes, what would that rise to?” He asked.

Fi went silent.

“Sorry.” Link said, after a moment. His right hand came up, and he rubbed his forehead, sighing again. 

“It is alright, Master Link. You are stressed-”

“No.” He interrupts, softly. “Don’t make excuses for me, Fi. I shouldn’t be snapping at you when you’re trying to help.”

Link looked at the mask, holding it a bit higher.

“The fact that it has my face honestly bothers me less than the implications of it having my face.” Link says. “Why does the mask of a Deity show my face? Or why do I have its face?”

Fi’s head turned, and she looked at the mask. “I cannot say, Master Link.”

Even Fi didn’t know. And if she didn’t know, then Link wasn’t sure who would.

Hylia, perhaps. But aside from that...

Link’s eyes flicked to the mask.

“Do you think if I asked, I’d get an answer?” He questioned.

“I cannot say, Master Link.” She repeated.

Link nodded. That had been about what he was expecting. 

He sighed, again.

And it wasn’t like he was going to try and find out, right now. He might not get an answer, but even worse, he possibly _could_.

Link isn’t ready for that.

Link had other things to be doing, and this could wait. This could gladly wait.

Link can’t leave the Mask behind. It’s too dangerous and too powerful to let it out of his sight, and frankly, Link isn’t even sure he _could_ leave it behind, even if he tried.

He’s not going to use it, though. Not here and not now, and not with anything he could fight on his own, because that would be a _terrible_ misuse of such Godly power. If he’s lucky, he’ll never need to. 

Link hopes, and prays to Hylia, that he’ll never need to.

Link grabs the Sheikah Slate, and taps the Mask to it. He’s actually a little surprised when it just disintegrates and swirls into it. With its power, he would have figured that it wouldn’t work, or that there would be a lightshow, or _something_.

But Link isn’t going to complain. At least with it stored inside the Sheikah Slate, he can’t sense its power. A good thing, because it would have ended up burning a hole in any pack he could have put it in, sheer power demanding his constant attention.

At least this way, he might be able to put it out of mind.

Hah. Look at that.

Another terribly funny joke.

He shakes his head.

“Come on, Fi.” He says. “We’ve still got things to do.”

Link and Fi, from there, continue the journey. There’s still at least another month left before Maz Koshia’s requested time passes. Link should be able to stretch the time out, since there’s still another fifty five shrines to complete, and scores of people who need help.

Faron, Necluda, Lanayru, Akkala, Eldin, Hebra, Tabantha, Gerudo Highlands, Gerudo Desert... 

Link is just retrieving the Monk’s gift at the Forgotten Temple when Maz Koshia makes himself known once again.

“Courageous Hero.” Maz Koshia states. “I have completed all of my work. When you are ready, defeat the Calamity and return.”

Link had been perilously close to running out of things to do. 

It is, unfortunately, too early in the day to complete the task. To kill Calamity then and there would have put the time of its defeat before midnight. It would rob them of most a day.

Link knows just how to spend that time. 

He goes to Hateno and bakes a cake. 

Apple, Wildberry, Tabantha Wheat, Cane Sugar. A long and involved process, with all the raw ingredients to be processed. Link takes special care to make sure it’s as good as he can get it.

He’s done this a lot, and so this is, in his humble opinion, actually very good.

It’s still finished a bit early. Into the Sheikah Slate it goes, and then Link takes a quick nap.

Castle. Ganon. Army of Guardians. Zelda.

“Are you ready?” He asks.

“Am I ready to meet an Ancient Sheikah Monk, in person?” She raises an eyebrow at him. “Absolutely I am.”

He holds the Sheikah Slate out, and she grabs onto it, stepping closer and through her other arm around him in a half hug.

She’s smiling.

Link taps the mark of the Shrine of Resurrection, and they both disintegrate into glowing lines of blue.

Link had expected it to be different. He’d expected that more than one person would change things, somehow.

It isn’t. It feels the same as it always does.

They rematerialize in place. Zelda shivers, a bit, but the expression on her face tells him that it’s jitters caused by excitement rather than the cool air.

She just about pulls him along as she steps forwards into the center chamber. Link puts the Sheikah Slate onto the pedestal, and Zelda’s head snaps to it as it reports the authorization of the Slate. The look in her eyes, to anybody else, might have been worryingly intense.

Then the shrine starts descending. The door reopens, and any chance of Zelda restraining herself vanishes in the same instant.

Zelda makes a _delighted_ noise, and surges forth, staring intently through the ‘window’ of the shrine. Link follows, a bit more sedately.

It’s immediately obvious to him that Maz Koshia has renovated. The central gear shaft is gone, and with it, most of the other Ancient mechanisms. The four rooms are also gone, with the right side having been remodelled into a single, larger area, while the left side has been remodelled into an open area with a few pieces of furniture, and few smaller rooms to the back part, with open doors to show a bit of the insides. Link can’t actually see anything from where he is, only a bit of a wall for both.

The right side was dominated mostly by a single, larger machine, with a few more not too far away from it.

It’s not messy, like the last time that Link had been here. Maz Koshia had clearly taken the time to ensure it was all clean and smooth, not a wire or cable in sight. Nothing was haphazard, bits of technology routed to other purposes. Now, everything looked like it had been that way all along.

“We’re underground.” Zelda murmurs to herself. “But this light is brighter Luminous Stone. It doesn’t appear to be Ancient Technology. What’s the source of this light?”

Link glances to Zelda. The expression on Zelda’s face is happy and excited and so utterly _curious_.

Link smiles. It’s good to see her so happy.

The elevator stops. Maz Koshia is standing not too far from the entrance.

“Welcome.” He bows. It’s a formal bow that the Sheikah reserve for royalty. “Courageous Hero. Wise Princess.”

It takes Zelda visible effort to restrain herself, but she follows, dipping into her own bow. “Thank you for the greeting, Honored Monk.”

“I’m honestly impressed you managed to reign in your scientist tendencies like that.” Link says, and Zelda immediately straightens up, shooting a glare at him from the corner of her eye.

“Link-” She hisses, but she doesn’t get any further before that low, breathy noise comes again.

Maz Koshia is laughing. “Do not worry for propriety.” He says. “I can recognize a kindred spirit.”

Zelda blinks, and then her grin is back on her face because she certainly can’t stop herself _now_.

“I have _so many_ questions.” She tells him, stepping forward and clasping her hands together. 

She pauses.

She blinks, looking down at her arms. Realization flashes through her, and Link can read the exact moment that she remembers she’s still covered in dirt and filth.

She looks up. “After a bath.” She smiles brilliantly, trying to play it off, but her cheeks are flushed and betray her embarrassment.

Maz Koshia has the kindness not to laugh. Link isn’t so restrained, and chuckles behind her. Red creeps down Zelda’s neck, and her ears tint pink.

Maz Koshia gestures to his right, at the rooms to the side. “I have prepared living quarters for the both of you.” He says. “They are equipped with all necessary amenities. Please help yourselves.”

Zelda nods, still smiling. “Thank you for your generosity.” She bows, slightly, and then begins to make her way to one of the rooms.

Link clears his throat, audibly, and Zelda pauses, turning to him with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

Link taps the Sheikah Slate. In a flash of blue, a pack materializes. He hands it to her. 

She blinks at it, then looks back up at him. 

“Towels.” Link said, and Zelda winces. “Soaps, oils, brushes, washcloths, and other toiletries.”

“Thank you, Link.” She says, turning away again.

Link clears his throat again, and Zelda twitches, slightly, before turning back. Another tap at the Slate, and another pack materialized.

“Clothes.” He says. Zelda blushes, again, though her expression doesn’t change from its magnanimous smile. “I managed to get your old travelling set from Impa.”

“My trousers?” She asks, hopeful.

He nods.

She smiles. “Anything else?”

One final tap. A Flameblade materializes.

Maz Koshia’s head tilts to the side. Zelda stares at it with naked confusion.

“You have almost never failed to ask me for one of these.” He says. She takes it, then glances back at him, still confused. “Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.”

She takes it, befuddled, shifting the pack with her clothes to her other hand, nodding slowly. She’s already trying to pick apart the mystery, and Link lets her leave this time when she turns around again and heads to one of the rooms.

The door closes behind her.

“She must truly hate that dress.” Maz Koshia says, after a moment.

Link laughs. “She had a Guardian fire on it, last time.” He shares.

Maz Koshia’s head tilts, acknowledging that.

Link takes a breath, in and out, to calm himself. “Alright.” He said. “What do you need me to do?”

“I would suggest, first, that you take the opportunity to refresh yourself.” Maz Koshia stated. “You have more than earned the opportunity to relax.”

Link winces. “It...” He sighs. “It feels like wasting time.” He admits.

“Of that, you do not need to concern yourself.” Maz Koshia states. “The machines I have prepared will not take the entire three days to finish their scans. They will be completed in only a few hours, at most. There is time to spare, and time to plan.”

“Breaks to recover and heal are an important part of any strenuous venture, Master Link.” Fi adds.

There’s no arguing the matter between the two of them, so Link accepts it and follows the suggestion. 

The areas that Maz Koshia had prepared for them are a curious blend of Ancient technology with simple design. The doors aren’t like the unfurling, meshing things that are much more common. They’re simple pieces mounted on simple hinges, though they’re absolutely quiet when he moves it and completely blocks sound and light from the outside when he closes it. Inside the first room is a bit of furniture, tables and chairs and cupboards, all Ancient materials but again oddly simple in design. There’s a small kitchen, some parts of it easily recognizable and some parts not.

Another door on the opposite side of the room opens to reveal the bedroom. 

The bed itself was larger than even the royal beds at the castle. A blanket and sheets covered it, both perfectly clean. A carpet splayed out underneath it, covering the tiled floor. There were dressers and wardrobes, and against one of the walls was a desk and chair, though the former had nothing on it.

A third door was along the same wall, but on the opposite end. Opening it revealed the bathroom. A small step down just in front of the door, a toilet in the corner, and a deep, wide basin across from it. A faint blue field shimmered around it, similar to the blue fields that surrounded the elevators that allowed entrance into the shrines. A portion of the basin is raised up, accessible from the bath but also from outside of it. It’s like a pedestal, though not as wide, and it has a screen like the Sheikah Slate does, though not as complex. 

There’s a few pictures on it, which remind him of some similar ones on the Slate. One appears to be rain, rendered in grey, while another is a gauge with a marker pointing straight up in the middle, one side of it blue and the other red. There’s a third, which is another gauge, except it’s vertical, and the marker sits at the bottom, and a fourth, with wavy symbols that Link isn’t sure of the meaning of.

Link taps the rain symbol, curious. Instantly, water begins to pour from the ceiling above the basin, showering all but the outer edges of it. 

Rain. Shower. A simple descriptor.

Droplets of water splash, but bounce back off the shimmering field. The basin, despite the pouring water, isn’t filling.

Link taps at the Sheikah Slate, and his glove disintegrates into blue. He pokes at the field, but his hand goes straight through. The water on the opposite side is lukewarm, at best.

Link eyes the second symbol. It looks to him not too different from the temperature gauge on the Sheikah Slate. 

The marker moves when Link touches it. He shifts it slightly towards the red, and the water falling down heats up. Link keeps moving it, and it gets hotter and hotter, until it reaches the end and the water is just under being dangerously hot.

Link shifts it back, about halfway down the red.

Link pokes at the third symbol, and raises the marker. Water begins to fill the basin, rising upwards. At its top, it fills it near complete. It’s crystal clear, and after bending down to test, it’s the same temperature as the falling water.

Link hits the rain symbol again, and it stops. He pokes the third symbol, raising and lowering the marker, and the water raises and lowers to follow, no visible input or output.

The same technology as Vah Ruta, presumably.

Link leaves it full, and then pokes the fourth button. The water began to swirl, rippling with waves and movement.

Link taps it again, and the water stills.

Zelda was no doubt having a _field day_. She would spend a lot of time playing with this, he knew. Poking and prodding, trying to determine how it all worked.

At least until she realized that the one who made it was still available for questioning. He hoped Maz Koshia was prepared.

Link tapped the Sheikah Slate. His clothes disintegrated, and Link stretched.

Relaxation, huh?

It did sound like a good idea, now.


	15. Chapter 15

The water was warm, and it never cooled. The heat seeped into his skin and left every muscle relaxed in a way that he usually experienced only in the hotsprings of Eldin. Just laying there and _floating_ had been an oddly soothing experience that left him feeling better than he had in... 

A while.

Link tries to remember the last time he’s allowed himself to just... _rest_. Relax. 

He actually can’t. Sure, Link has slept, on the road and up in trees, and in beds at the stables and at inns in the various settlements, but that doesn’t count. All of that had been for a _purpose_ , and all of that had been something that he’d done before.

This is similar to things he’s done in the past, hotsprings of Eldin after all, but it’s a new experience, and Link... 

Link doesn’t get a lot of those, anymore. He usually goes months of repetition between them. 

The three days after Calamity are always a bit different. But they’re among the only things that are always a bit different.

He’d been in danger of falling asleep in the water, it had been that pleasant. It was actually precisely that which had prompted him to finish up, lest he actually end up falling asleep.

There was a bed for a reason. Even if he didn’t intend to sleep just yet.

Link, once he’s done with his bath, puts on a simple set of clothes and emerges from his quarters. He’s not sure how long he’s been, but Zelda has evidently managed to beat him out.

She looks significantly better now than she did before. Her skin has a healthy pallor, every hint of dirt and filth scrubbed off. Her hair’s still a bit wet, tied and clipped behind her neatly, so she hasn’t beaten him out by too much. The Flameblade is leaning against the table next to her, and there’s a bit less power in it, so Zelda had indeed figured out its use. She’s gesturing animatedly to Maz Koshia, holding a...

There’s a Sheikah Slate in her hands. It’s not the one he was using, because that’s still hanging at his side.

They had always wondered if there was more than one. Had Maz Koshia created this one, or did he retrieve it from somewhere else?

Did it matter, either way?

Link shakes his head.

“- this _is_ Luminous Stone?” Zelda is asking, gesturing at the ceiling. “It’s so bright! How did it happen?”

“There is a fine point where, if Luminous Stone forms under a higher degree of pressure, its internal structure changes and leads to a brighter glow.” Maz Koshia explains. “It is very rare that this happens naturally. The Luminous Stone of the ceiling in this cavern was created artificially.”

Zelda lets out an ‘ooh’, and her fingers rapidly tap at the... at _her_ Sheikah Slate. She must be making use of the journal function, since he hadn’t supplied her with any writing implements or books.

It’s probably a good thing, actually. When Zelda gets into her researcher moods, she can fill a journal in a day. Her Sheikah Slate would be able to keep up.

Hopefully.

Link makes sure his next few steps are particularly loud. Maz Koshia’s head turns his way, slightly, while Zelda quickly glances in his direction before going back to her Sheikah Slate. “Link!” She greets.

“Good to see you enjoying yourself.” Link nods. 

Zelda’s grin hasn’t let up at all. 

“I have been!” She cheered. 

Link glanced at Maz Koshia, who nodded. 

“So much knowledge to gain!” She continued, almost manic. “So many things to research! I’m talking with an actual Ancient Sheikah Monk inside of an actual Ancient Sheikah facility, Link! I am _very_ happy!”

She looked up, putting her Slate down. Her smile faltered, briefly. “My one reget is that this whole time loop business is still happening. So many questions I want to ask, but I have to wait until afterwards, because most of them aren’t going to help you.”

“Zelda-”

“No.” She interrupted him. “Three days, end of the loop, beginning of the next. Asking would be pointless regardless, because I won’t remember, and if I did ask, it means less time devoted to solving this, and therefore, it will take longer to get to the point where I _can_ ask all the questions I have and have it actually serve a point.”

As always, she was the smart one. The willful one.

So he nods, accepting it. 

“Time is ticking.” She sighed. “And now that you’re here, it’s best to get on with it.”

“My machines are ready.” Maz Koshia stated. “They are powerful and sensitive scanners. If the source of these time loops is something internal or attached to you, it is possible that they shall reveal it. Even if they do not, it will provide us a wealth of baseline data that we will be able to use in the future.”

He can _clearly_ see Zelda try to restrain her urge to ask questions.

“There is only one that needs to be used for now.” Maz Koshia continued. “It is a particularly thorough scanner, which will take at least an hour to complete its process. It functions through matter-energy conversion principles similar to the ones utilized by your Slate’s Warp Rune.”

Link blinked. “I didn’t understand much of that.”

“Link’s body will dissolve into energy?” Zelda asked.

“In essence.” Maz Koshia stated. “Do not worry. It is not harmful. You will, however, likely not perceive the time period it takes to complete.”

Link nodded. “I’m about to lose an hour, got it.”

“It is ready when you are.” Maz Koshia gestured to the right, at, to Link’s surprise, one of the smaller machines. He’d honestly been expecting it to be the particularly large one.

Link nodded. “Just a moment.” He reached to his back, fiddling with a clasp. With a small _click_ , the strap of the Master Sword’s sheath came loose. 

He held it out to Zelda, who took it with care. “First, you and Fi had a fairly good chat, last time. Might be a good idea to catch up this time.” He tells her.

She nods.

Link pulls out his Sheikah Slate, and swipes across its menus. He goes to the food section, and then selects something.

With a swirl of blue lights, a platter took form, covered with a cloche. Zelda looks at it curiously as Link sets it down on the table, and then pulls the cloche off.

A rich, sweet smell came out. Zelda breathed in, sudden and sharp.

“Fruitcake.” She said, blinking at it. “My favourite.” She turned to Link and smiled. “You know, I saw you make it, but I completely forgot about it.”

Link smiled. “You’re usually pretty hungry. This is healthy enough.”

Zelda giggled. “I want you to know that you’re a good person and I appreciate everything you do.”

“Especially bringing you cake?” He asks with a smirk.

She returns it. “If you’re going to make the first thing I’ve eaten in a hundred years my favourite cake, then yes.” Her smile becomes a little deeper, more soft. “Thank you Link.”

“Of course, Zelda.” He says.

Link turns to Maz Koshia and nods. The Monk stood up, and walked over to the machine. It’s wide, circular base glowed, three pillars spaced equally apart.

“Simply step on, and it shall start.” Maz Koshia said.

“See you in an hour.” Link steps on it.

Despite the Monk’s previous words, Link had still been expecting... something different. His body dissolves into blue light, there’s a brief, timeless moment that’s remembered more than it’s experienced, and then he’s rematerializing, again, on the machine.

It’s a little jarring. Maz Koshia isn’t where he was standing only a moment ago. The cake he’d given Zelda was gone, nothing but crumbs remaining. Fi floated in the air, in front of Zelda, who was now visibly drooping.

“How dare my body betray me like this.” Zelda sniffed, yawning. “I didn’t use it for a hundred years, and it has the _audacity_ to need sleep? This is much more important. Science demands answers!”

Link can’t stop himself from snorting. Zelda spun, partially startled, and blinked at him.

“Oh, you’re back.” She said. “Has it been an hour already?”

“One hour, three minutes, fourteen seconds.” Fi reported.

“I barely even noticed.” She murmured. 

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.” Link says as he steps closer. 

“You should rest.” Maz Koshia suggests. “It will take several more hours for the data to be parsed.”

Zelda yawns, again, and then tries to glare at herself. The excitement has had a bit of time to wear, and now her exhaustion is creeping up, so she’s crashing hard.

“This is nostalgic.” Link can’t help but note. “You, exhausted, but still pushing yourself. Of course, it used to be Impa that was encouraging you to sleep.”

Zelda opens her mouth, preparing to say something, but what actually comes out is a particularly loud yawn that she isn’t quite fast enough to muffle. 

Link raises an eyebrow, and Zelda settles for shooting him a small glare.

“Go to bed, Zelda.” He says. “This will still be here later. You can get back to your research then.”

She sighs. “It feels like wasting time.”

“I assure you, _that_ is something I’m very familiar with.” Link says. “But you’ll feel better later, and accomplish more. I’ll make sure to have some Energizing Elixirs ready for you.”

She nods, accepting that, and rises from her chair. She gives Link a quick hug, and then heads into her quarters.

Link waits until he hears the door shut. “I’m going to guess that the parsing of this data isn’t something a machine would be doing.”

“No.” Maz Koshia agrees. “I’m going to guess that you already prepared the Energizing Elixirs.” He returns.

“More than a few.” Link responds.

“Misdirection, in order to support someone.” Fi notes. “It is a curious act.”

“If Zelda wasn’t as tired as she was, she wouldn’t have fallen for it at all.” Link notes. “Still, I should probably follow, because she will notice if I don’t sleep. Is there anything else you need from me?”

Maz Koshia shakes his head, slowly. “No.”

Link nods. “Good night, then. And good luck.”

Link goes into his quarters. According to his Sheikah Slate, it’s slightly after two in the morning.

Link sets an alarm for seven. Less than five hours, but Link’s sleep schedule had never really existed in the first place, and one of the benefits of being a Hero is that he doesn’t need as much as most. 

The tricky part is accounting for Zelda. She knows how the Sheikah Slates work, and Link doesn’t doubt that she had set up an alarm. Hers would be a bit more generous than his, but she’d still probably end up waking at eight thirty at the latest, because she also knows that Link’s Energizing Elixirs are the good, potent kind that will keep people going for long after they should have otherwise dropped. She _will_ deny herself some sleep, for that.

Seven will give him enough time to cook a dedicated, energizing breakfast, and make some lunches out of the food he already has stored. Dinner would have to come later, but that was a problem for later.

Link takes a short moment to clean up, and then gets in the bed.

It was softer than the fluffiest of sheep and smoother than the finest of silks. His head hits the pillow, and the next thing he knows, he’s waking up to the alarm of his Sheikah Slate, feeling a lot better than he thought he ever would have on less than five hours of sleep.

Link has seen many applications of Ancient Sheikah Technology and this one may very well be his favourite.

Link gets up, a bit reluctant, and heads to the first room of his quarters.

The bed’s status as his favourite piece of Ancient Technology is immediately contested by the kitchen. The stovetop is controlled by dials similar to the bathroom, each one corresponding to a section of the stove that can be set individually. There’s a sink with a tap that has its own mechanism that controls the temperature of the water. There’s another mechanism that’s like the Slate with its own screen, and poking at it reveals the same inventory function, though organized into different categories. One of the categories has a score of utensils, knives and forks and spoons, tongs and ladles and spatulas, plates and cups and containers of all shapes and sizes. Another category is filled with machines he doesn’t recognize, but which are helpfully marked with small descriptors of their purposes and suggested usage.

Link hasn’t even used it yet and he already knows he is _dearly_ going to miss it when the end of this loop comes. Three days is too short of a time to play with all this. Three days is just long enough to get a taste of its magnificence just so losing it would be all the more bitter.

Link opens the door to the main area, and checks around. No immediate questions greet his ear, so Zelda can’t have pulled a fast one on him.

Maz Koshia is perched on a seat, leaning over what looks like a third Sheikah Slate. Fi hovers above him, staring at the same thing.

Both look up as he looks at them.

“Zelda isn’t awake?” He asks, just to be sure.

“She is not.” Maz Koshia confirms.

Link nods, and almost goes back inside before he pauses.

“Do you eat anything?” He asks.

“No.” Fi says.

Maz Koshia pauses, for a few seconds. “Bananas.”

Link blinks, then nods again. “I’ll make you something.”

He leaves the door open. That way, he’ll know when Zelda leaves her room.

Link gets to cooking.

With the multiple spots on the stove, and the extensive array of pans and pots in the attached inventory, Link is able to cook a lot more than he was anticipating. He has enough food and ingredients in his Slate to feed a village for a few months, and he makes an admirable dent in the supply.

Link makes bread. Link makes soup. Link makes stew. Link makes steak. Link makes mushroom skewers. Link makes little pastries. Link makes cake. Link makes everything that even remotely crosses his mind, that he can do in the time he’s pretty sure he has.

Sorry, Ancient Bed. Ancient Kitchen is the firm winner of this round.

Link hears the clack of shoes on Ancient Stone, and a slow, long yawn. He glances at his Slate. 8:33, it reads.

Link looks over his shoulder. Zelda walks in front of his door, eyes closed, and then _stops_.

She breathes in, deeply, slowly, through her nose. Her eyes open.

Her green gaze meets Link’s blue.

“I made breakfast.” Link says.

Zelda stares at him as if he’s hung the stars in the sky. 

“May the Golden Goddesses rain blessings on you and yours.” She says, deadly serious. “May Hylia herself deliver you unto the Heavens.”

Link turns back to the stoves, hiding his smile.

“Best hurry to the table, Princess.” He says. “It’s a big day ahead.”


	16. Chapter 16

Breakfast is an efficient affair. Link lays out smaller, simpler foods for Zelda, stew and soup and pieces of bread, cuttings of meat and diced pieces of fruit. He knows from experience what she can handle in the days after Calamity, and it unfortunately isn’t everything.

Maz Koshia receives various Banana-involved dishes. Bread, pastries, syrup, more.

Zelda attacks her food with the manners of a princess and a voracious appetite probably more befitting of a Lynel. Link has to encourage her to slow down, lest she upset her stomach. She’s unwilling, until he points out that if she does upset her stomach, she’ll have less time for research, which makes her sigh sadly and nod in agreement.

By the time Link looks back, Maz Koshia’s food is already gone. Link is impressed, because the only other person he knows who can eat that fast is himself, and _he_ didn’t have a mask in front of his face.

A mask that he hadn’t seen or even heard removed, now that he thought about it.

Doubly impressive.

Link himself takes a bit of everything.

They’re done fairly quickly.

“Problematically...” Zelda begins, once she’s eaten her fill. “We simply do not have much in the way of actionable intelligence. In-depth data, I mean. We furthermore don’t have the time to make use of anything we learn now, so any discoveries will have to be implemented upon the next loop. We can only speculate and make plans for ourselves, next time. And investigate matters, of course.”

“On that matter, I do have news.” Maz Koshia stated. “I have finished examining the scan data.”

Zelda leans forwards with anticipation. “Anything interesting?”

“For the most part, it is what I expected.” Maz Koshia taps his Sheikah Slate, and both Link’s and Zelda’s beeps.

Zelda’s had already been on the table, of course, but Link pulls his from this side. There’s a glowing icon that hadn’t been there before, and Link presses it to reveal...

A depiction of Link himself.

“Biologically, Link is physically exceptional.” Maz Koshia noted. Several displays flashed, and the depiction of Link was marked at various points. “Strength, speed, stamina, and durability far in excess of Hylian-normal. In terms of general health, Link is almost certainly the healthiest Hylian that currently exists.”

Link blinks at it.

“Intriguing.” Zelda pokes at her slate. “But not surprising. He’s always been like that, and if my research was correct, so were many previous Heroes.”

“All known examples of Heroes share similar traits, yes.” Maz Koshia agreed. “The previous hero was the same, and so this, while exceptional, falls within predicted parameters.” He tapped it, and the image shifted. “This does not.”

It displayed, now, a series of graphs, precisely none of which meant anything at all to Link. There were coloured lines and shades, and data that he had no idea how to make sense of. 

“These graphs are measurements of magical energies.” Maz Koshia. “Magic has, for the most part, become a part of living beings. Most people have a small amount within them.”

“Kaysa said something similar to that.” Link noted. 

“Do tell.” Zelda said. 

Maz Koshia nodded. “It was a somewhat recent phenomenon, in terms of absolute history. Magic previously existed as a force that could be tapped into, but overtime, it came to merge more closely with existence and seeped into the world, becoming an innate part of it.”

“ _Intriguing_.” Zelda repeats. “How does this relate to Link?”

“Link has several distinct magical energy signatures.” Maz Koshia stated. “I have mapped six of them: pure unaligned magic, temporal magic, healing magic, protective magic, wind magic, and lightning magic.”

“Unaligned would be the magic he got from Kaysa.” Zelda noted. “Temporal is his natural magic. The others are Mipha, Daruk, Revali, and Urbosa’s abilities.”

Maz Koshia nodded again. “Unfortunately, that is all I could find. There are no traces of other magical signatures, or Calamity’s Malice. If the source of these temporal loops is tied to Link then it is hidden very well.”

“It doesn’t surprise me.” Link said. “Kaysa couldn’t find anything, either.”

He honestly hadn’t been expecting it to reveal anything.

“This is still hope for that matter.” Maz Koshia says, and Link looks up. He gestures to the largest machine, dominating its corner. “That machine is also a scanner, though it utilizes less invasive measures. I intend for you to use it at the end of these three days. It will monitor you during it. Since the cause of the loops would be active during it, there is a high chance it will be able to be detected during it. It will not help this loop, but it may help in the next.”

Link won’t get his hopes up. It would be nice if it did, but it had been impenetrable to everything else so far.

He nods regardless.

“Unfortunately, that does not leave us with many options, here and now.” Maz Koshia finished.

“We have a few.” Zelda says. “There’s those vaults you sent Link to. What was actually in them?”

Link thinks of the Fierce Deity Mask and grimaces. 

Then he actually thinks about what Zelda said. “You don’t know?” He asked.

Zelda shakes her head. “No. And that was surprising, I hope you know. When you entered, I lost sight of you. You came out of the first and second vaults quickly, but the third...” She frowned. “You were very subdued when you exited the third, Link.”

Link closes his eyes, and nods, slowly. “The first two weren’t bad. The third...” He sighs.

He grabs his Sheikah Slate. “Fi recognized both of the items in the first and second vaults.” He said. He navigates the inventory for a moment. “The first one contained the Sword of Six Sages.”

The very same sword materializes in his hands. 

Zelda leans forwards, eyeing it with interest. “I’ve read about this.” She notes. “A sword of the Twilight Era. Made to kill a demon king, supposedly.”

“Ganondorf.” Link says, flatly. He idly notes Maz Koshia dipping his head forwards. 

“Ganon... _dorf_?” She repeats. “The old scrolls..?”

Link nods. “True.”

“Oh.” She says, softly.

She swallows, after a moment, and shakes her head, looking back at the sword. She reaches out to poke it. “It’s a powerful Light artifact. If Calamity is the source of these loops, then more power that opposes it cannot be a bad thing. I am... not sure it will be useful in this loop, though.”

Link nods.

He taps at his Slate again. “The second comes from the same time period.” He says. “Fi says it’s a Shadow Crystal. It’s cursed, so don’t touch it.”

A pair of tongs materialize, and then the Shadow Crystal itself. 

“It’s quite small.” She notes, studying it’s black and orange form. “Why would you direct him to recover this?” She asks Maz Koshia.

“It contains power of the Twilight Realm.” He says. “It is powerful magic unlike that of Hyrule. It may prove useful. It is dangerous, however, as that power is transformative to the denizens of the Hyrule.” Maz Koshia states. “They are typically transformed into spirits. The Hero of Twilight, however, was resistant to the magic, and took another form instead.”

“Another form?” Zelda hummed. “Now that I think about it, a few records of that age do mention a ‘Divine Beast’... And if I recall correctly, there’s a piece of artwork that depicts the Hero of Twilight alongside a wolf, which is another common motif when it comes to the Era of Twilight. I always thought it was symbolism. Are the two actually one and the same?”

“Yes.” Link said. “Fi was there for it. The Master Sword can break the Shadow Crystal’s curse.”

Zelda looks at the Shadow Crystal, and then to Link. “I never saw you use it.” She said. “Were you not curious enough to test it?”

Link frowns. “I was going to.” He admits. “But after the third vault...”

He almost doesn’t want to reveal it. The mask and all the questions and implications that come with it...

But he can’t keep it hidden.

Link taps at his Sheikah Slate. 

The Fierce Deity Mask swirls into existence. Link doesn’t look at it. He keeps his eyes on the other two.

Their reactions are telling. Zelda flinches back, her eyes locking onto Fierce Deity Mask in an instant. Her attention is captured and kept, and nothing else matters.

Maz Koshia is the opposite. Where Zelda instinctively flinches away, the Monk goes dead still, freezing utterly and completely in an instant. Link has seen the same behaviour in animals who have been suddenly faced with the presence of a predator, and who have stilled in hopes of going unnoticed.

He can’t blame either of them.

“What.” Zelda says, after a few seconds. “What is that?” She hisses.

Link sighs, again, flipping it around to face it towards himself. “The Fierce Deity Mask.” He says. “And I don’t know.”

“It has your face.” She continues. “ _It has your **face**!_”

“I noticed.”

“I can _feel_ it.” She says. “That’s divine power! I don’t-”

“Zelda.” He says, suddenly and sharply, and she startles. He stares her in the eyes for a few moments, making sure she’s listening to him. “ _Breathe_.”

Zelda sucks in a breath, then lets it out.

“Keep breathing.” He says, softly. “In and out. Slowly.”

She does.

He looks at her for a few seconds, before turning back to the mask. “I don’t... entirely understand this.” He says

Maz Koshia shifts. It’s a slight, slow movement. But he isn’t relaxed, and Link can see every muscle on his body tensed.

“I don’t know where it came from.” He continues. “I don’t know why it has my face.”

“There is a presence within it.” Maz Koshia says. 

“Yes.” Link nods. “It recognizes me. I think it was waiting for me. Specifically, for me.”

Zelda chews her lip. It’s not a habit she does often. It’s something that she’s specifically tried to stop doing, in fact, because she used to do it when she was trying to awaken her powers, and failure was pressing hard on her. 

That she’s doing it again is a sign of exactly how unnerved she is.

“It... is powerful.” She says. “It... could possibly help with these time loops.”

Link looks down at the mask.

Possibly, she says. With the power that radiated off of it, ‘possibly’ isn’t the word he’d use. 

But the idea of actually using it?

“If it’s all the same to you-” He says. “I’d prefer that we look through other options first.”

Zelda swallows. He can’t help but read some relief in her expression, at that.

Link presses the Fierce Deity Mask against his Sheikah Slate, and it dissolves into blue light. Its presence vanishes from the room, and Zelda lets out a breath. Maz Koshia relaxes, though it’s a minute thing.

“My apologies.” Maz Koshia speaks, after a moment. “That is much worse than anything I was anticipating you would find.”

Link shakes his head. “It’s fine.” He said. “Besides... if it was really waiting for me like I think it was, I probably would have found my way to it eventually.”

Silence falls, at that. All three consider his words. Until he’d spoken them, Link hadn’t realized how true those words seemed.

He was not at all happy about that.

“So!” Zelda claps her hands together, smiling a desperate smile of someone who was trying to move on from the current topic. A bead of sweat drips down her temple, despite the pleasantly cool air. “We have a Shadow Crystal and you haven’t tested it yet! How about we all go to the surface, enjoy some fresh air, and get to experimenting on it!”

Her eyes were begging. 

Link nods, instantly. He needs the distraction almost as much as she does, at this point.

“I shall meditate.” Maz Koshia shakes his head. “But please, do not stop yourselves on my account.”

Link slings the Master Sword onto his back, and then he, Zelda, and Fi head to the surface.

Link, somewhat belatedly, hands Zelda his Energizing Elixirs. She downs one immediately, and perks up.

Link takes them near to the Oman Au Shrine, because it’s a nice open spot with a few trees nearby if they need some shade. 

Zelda, of course, stops to look at the nearby area.

“How did the entrance to the plateau get flooded?” She wonders, staring at the ground that sloped downwards to the entrance.

“The passage at the bottom is completely covered in dirt.” Link said.

“How did the water not wash it away?” Zelda asks. “Or seep through it?”

Link shrugs. He has no idea. He’s never stopped to ask.

Zelda pulls out her Sheikah Slate, and taps at it. 

He raises an eyebrow at her.

“I’m making notes, for when this is over.” She explains. “He didn’t have much time, but Maz Koshia informed me that he could load Fi with information. If it’s in this Sheikah Slate, I can send it to myself in future loops.”

Link stops dead.

Zelda gets a few more seconds before she realizes it.

She looks up at Link, and whatever she reads on his face, her expression softens instantly. Without hesitation, she steps forwards and hugs him tightly. 

“It isn’t... much.” She said, softly. “But a bit of continuity is better than nothing, right?”

Link doesn’t answer. Just hugs her a bit tighter.

It takes a few minutes before she lets go. “Come on.” She smiles. “There’s research to be done.”

Zelda goes to a small pond that’s partially covered by a few trees. Link isn’t sure it has a name. She takes a seat on the grass and starts typing on her slate, muttering words to herself. Link catches a few of them, ‘hypothesis’, ‘transformation’, ‘wolf’, ‘twilight’, and ‘experiment one’, before she pauses briefly.

“Fi?” She asks. “Was the Hero of Twilight capable of magic?”

Fi materializes and shakes her head. “Not of his own.” She reports. “His personal usage of magic was limited solely to magic items and the Shadow Crystal.”

“Another variable, then.” Zelda hums, and taps probably exactly that into her Sheikah Slate. “Would having your own magic interfere with the transformation? I guess we can’t really test it, since you already have magic and we don’t know what would have happened if you tried this before you got it...”

She pauses. “Actually, on that note, how does your pure magic interact with the other magic abilities? Can you use it to enhance their power? Use them more often? Does it alter their effects?”

She keeps typing for a few seconds, before looking up.

Link stares at her blankly.

She pauses, before threading her fingers together and resting her chin on them. A smirk crawls its way across her face.

“You didn’t even think about that.” She says, amused.

“You’re the smart one” He says.

Zelda scoffs, waving it away. “Your talents merely lay in other areas. I suppose there had to be something you weren’t instantly perfect at. Fortunately, I am inquisitive enough for us both.”

“Inquisitive.” He repeats. “Yes. That’s what you are.”

She swipes her fingers across her Slate. “By which, I of course mean that we’re now doing more experiments, so thank you for volunteering.” She pauses, briefly. “Actually, no, we’re going to start with these new experiments. This is familiar ground that is likely to be less taxing than transformation via cursed Shadow Crystal. Which to start with, though... Not Mipha’s Grace, since that’s a healing power that would require you to be injured in the first place, and I would _highly prefer_ that this not happen.”

Her care of him warmed his heart.

“I will also have to rule out Urbosa’s Fury, because I’ve seen how you usually use that and I would prefer to be nowhere nearby if you’re going to be testing a possibly enhanced version. Quite frankly, I also don’t think you’d _let me_ be anywhere nearby, either.”

Link thinks about Urbosa’s Fury. Link thinks about how he usually summons a storm of lightning, powerful enough to instantly kill most monsters outright. Link thinks about how that storm covers enough space that he can clear a field of monsters with one snap of his fingers.

Link imagines, then, the possible consequences of enhancing that power even further.

Zelda is right. She _isn’t_ going to be anywhere near that. If he’s going to try that, he’ll be doing it alone out in the deepest parts of the Gerudo Highlands. 

“Daruk’s Protection is hard to test.” She continues. “Being a mostly passive, protective power. It should... _should_ be safe, but in terms of more immediately visible effects, either your own temporal magic or Revali’s Gale would be best.”

Revali’s Gale, probably. It’d be the choice that both of them would be able to observe. His time magic was, by nature, something that interfered with other people’s ability to perceive him, simply because from their perspective he would be moving so fast.

Zelda finishes typing, and looks up at him with a brilliant smile. “I hope you’re ready for this, because it’s time to start _testing_.”


	17. Chapter 17

The first test goes well. Link summons Revali’s Gale, feeds it a bit of his pure magic, and manages to accidentally launch himself into a pond.

Zelda laughs at him.

Tests two through eight are similar, though Link thankfully manages to avoid landing in a pond. Zelda eventually starts to wonder what else he can do with Revali’s Gale. Both of them have seen Revali’s use of it, and she wonders if Link can manage to replicate them.

Tests nine through fifty six are devoted to entirely that. 

Zelda, once she gets into her researcher mood, is particular and meticulous.

Link eventually does start figuring things out. He’s not a Rito, with hollow bones and wings and the element of wind written into his very being, so he can’t use the Gale to fly like Revali used to. The most Link can accomplish on that particular front is using the Paraglider and Gale together to carry himself, and that’s a far cry from Revali’s agility.

It does leave him with other options, though. Revali’s Gale, Link finds, can be used to control the winds. If Link tries, he can use it to make miniature tornadoes, strong currents of winds that redirect his arrows, and pulses of high-pressure winds that can launch things.

He’s honestly mostly happy about the second, considering the possibilities it opens up. Link usually didn’t find himself needing to control the battlefield like Revali’s Gale offers, because he could usually just kill everything outright.

His time magic comes after she’s satisfied with Revali’s Gale. 

Link honestly can’t say that too much about it changes. He can keep it up for longer, or he can slow time even more. Zelda is mildly disappointed with the lack of easily observable effects, and so they move on.

Daruk’s protection is next on the list. Strengthened with his pure magic, the barrier gains a white colour lined with red. There’s nothing so dramatic in terms of changes. Daruk’s Protection is a power that is as straightforward as the Champion it was born from.

The most notable thing about it is that the reflection effect is stronger. Link, Zelda, and Fi go to a shrine in Faron to test that, and Zelda observes behind a tree while Link baits a Moblin into swinging its club at him.

The club is sent back with such force that the monster is knocked out.

Zelda goes back to the plateau. Link and Fi go to the Kema Kosassa Shrine in the Gerudo Highlands. 

Zelda is already taking notes when he comes back, a few minutes later.

“I saw the light show from here.” She tells him. “It’s lightning, so that isn’t difficult. It was... quite spectacular.”

Spectacular was one word for it, yes.

“I was also able to test Mipha’s Grace.” He says.

Her head snaps up, eyes wide and concerned. “You were injured?!” She’s on her feet in an instant, looking over him.

He reaches out and grabs her shoulders before she can do much more.

“Zelda.” He says, slowly. “Thunder is loud.”

She blinks, then breathes a sigh of relief. A hint of red crosses her cheeks. “Oh.”

He lets go of her shoulders, but takes a hand, instead. He breathes in, slowly, before calling upon Mipha’s Grace.

A soft, gold-white glow begins to shine. 

“Mipha’s Grace.” Zelda murmurs. “In its original form.”

“Except the colour.” He finishes.

A brief flash of pain went across her face. Zelda and Mipha had been good friends. Seeing this reminded Zelda of times that had long since passed, now.

She nods, slowly. “She’d like that, I think.”

She would have.

Link lets the healing power return to its rest. Zelda’s thumb brushes over his hand, for a moment, before she shakes her head. “Still another experiment to go.” She tells him, smile a bit more subdued but still present.

“How about we have lunch before we start playing with the Shadow Crystal?” He suggests.

“That would be delightful.” Zelda says.

Lunch is a relatively short affair. 

“Pastries?” She said. “If you keep feeding me like this, I’ll get fat.”

“Until the loops end, there isn’t enough time for any consequences.” Link notes.

Zelda pauses. “That’s an excellent point.”

She scarfs them all.

After that comes the actual moment. Link brings out the Shadow Crystal and holds it between his tongs. He hands Zelda the Master Sword, and then goes several meters away on Fi’s advice.

“This will likely be unpleasant, Master Link.” Fi reminded them. 

Link nods. Still, he’s already committed. “Ready, Zelda?”

“Recording... now.” She said, setting her Sheikah Slate up to face him.

“Here we go, then.”

Link touches the Shadow Crystal.

It’s a... _interesting_ feeling. The crystal dissolves, and black flecks began to spread up his fingers, forming geometric shapes. 

Fi is right, though. It is _unpleasant_.

It’s not as bad some things that have happened to him, though. Calamity’s mere presence is worse than this.

Link forces himself to concentrate on it. The power of Twilight feels like chillingly cold water as it seeps over him, enveloping him. It’s a strange, shadowed sensation. 

There’s more to it than that, though. Link isn’t sure how to describe it, but he can _feel_... Two parts. There’s the transformative magic, which feels like _change_. It’s the shadow of Twilight, but otherwise impersonal.

But there’s also the _curse_. And _that_ feels different. It’s darker than the transformative magic. It feels... Malicious.

Capital-M Malicious.

It came from Calamity, no doubt. Or, Ganondorf, back then. 

If the curse is separate from the transformation, was it necessary to be cursed in order to transform?

Link wasn’t sure. There was, however, an easy way to find out.

And, honestly?

Letting Calamity’s power fester inside of him is something that he isn’t going to do. 

Time slows. Link concentrates. The curse, the magic.

They’re closely linked. Two distinct things, but chained together. 

Magic is a product of will. Link summons his pure magic, and lets it sharpen into knives.

He stabs.

The curse rebounds, facing unexpected resistance. Link works quickly, in that extended moment, and uses his magic to sever the curse from the Twilight power. It’s not an easy task. 

The curse is... Sticky, would be the best way to describe it. Like Malice, it doesn’t want to let go of anything it touches. 

Link forces it back, and then out. Pink-black shoots away from his hand as the Malice, the curse, disperses.

Link lets go of time. The Twilight power spreads up his arm, and he notes Zelda jolting, briefly, eyes narrowing for a moment over his hand.

It’s too late to say anything about it, however.

The Twilight keeps flowing. It settles over his skin and seeps inside, reaching inwards. Link’s vision blackens, and there’s a buzz in his ears, but he can feel his body begin to _stretch_. His fingers curling up, nails lengthening. His spine shifting, bones beginning to creak. His back feels hot for a moment, and then there’s a weight, there. His arms and legs shift, he can feel the muscles realign.

It is a _wholly_ unpleasant sensation, and Link finds himself grateful when it’s over in only a few moments.

The black dissipates. The buzz ends.

Link breathes. It’s a heavy sound.

He feels... 

Link feels a lot of things, actually. 

Alright. One by one.

Sight.

His sight is clear. _More_ than clear, in fact. He can see every crease on every blade of grass in front of him. He sees colours beyond that which he’d even known, colours which he has no name for. The world is utterly vibrant, with his sight like this. Zelda stares up at him, her mouth open and her jaw dropped, and he can see every thread in her clothes. 

Hearing.

Link can hear the sounds of nature. Insects, chirping. A few boars, chewing at the grass. Wind, rustling the leaves. The soft sound of snow blowing from the peak. Waterfalls, crashing. A flock of birds, high in the air, their wings flapping. Zelda’s heart is beating rapidly, and Link can hear the blood pumping through her veins. Despite all of this input from so many sources, it somehow isn’t overwhelming, and he can clearly distinguish every individual sound.

Scent.

A riot. Water. Nature. Plants. Animals. The lingering smell of the food they’d eaten only minutes ago. Hylian Mushrooms, under that tree. A colony of termites, over there. Boars. Squirrels. Lizards. A Fairy, hidden in the grass. Zelda smells like pastries.

Taste.

Much the same, actually.

Touch.

Oddly muted. He feels the light of the sun on his skin, knows that it is warm, but he isn’t really feeling the _heat_. The wind blows against him, and he can feel it, but it’s more abstract. The ground underneath his feet and hands is coarse, but otherwise not much different to how it felt before.

Magic.

He’d thought he’d had his eyes open, before. And, yes, he supposed that as a Hylian, he did. But that didn’t compare to now, in this new shape. Magic, he’s just _aware_ of. He can see it, feel it, taste it, smell it. The Twilight, holding him in this form. He can sense the power that flows through the world. That’s Cotera, just over there, with her network of light and influence that stretches across central hyrule. Satori, and his blupees, running across the lands. Koroks, the mischievous creatures, tucked into every nook and cranny. Malanya, watching over the horses. Farosh, Naydra, Dinraal, shining like distant stars.

Zelda, the sun contained in her skin.

Body.

Link shifts, minutely, testing every muscle he can. His arms and legs both feel similar to each, their shapes different from before. Hands... are not hands, anymore. Fingers don’t bend like they used to. Spine... longer. It continues past his legs, and...

No. That’s not right. He has a tail, now. 

He can feel it swishing, gently, behind him. There’s a sensation similar to hair being dragged along the ground, too.

The tail isn’t the only new limb. On his shoulder blades, there are a pair of weights. They’re odd, and feel like an extra pair of arms that have hands with extremely long fingers.

The ground is further away than he’s used to. He must be taller, now. He’s actually pretty happy about that, because he’s always used to being the smallest person around, and the opportunity to be on the other side of that is a good one.

He’s heavier, and he _knows_ he’s heavier, but he feels light. He feels strong, in fact. Energized, as if he’d drank three elixirs one at once. It’s not a nervous energy. He feels no need to move. He just knows that, if pushed, he’d be able to spring out in a deadly fast motion.

Mind.

Clear. Nothing out of place, but he feels expanded, now, with something more than Hylian in him.

Okay.

He looks at Zelda, who is still frozen solid with a dropped jaw. Even Fi is still, though her face is blank rather than openly shocked.

Hmm. Lot of ways to get her out of that. But...

“Why are you so small?” He asks.

His voice registers in his own ears. It’s _deep_ , but surprisingly smooth. It has an ethereal quality that reminds him of the Great Fairies, after he’d gained magic.

“I’m _not_ small!” Zelda huffs, literally shaking off her shock and standing up. “ _You_ are big! And how did you make understandable words through a snout like this?”

She holds a hand up, fingers extended, and grabs him on his nose. He feels it, in some abstract sense, but it’s a very light sensation.

“Magic, probably.” He answers. He makes a humming noise, and yes, it’s definitely magic, because he can feel it pooling in his throat and transforming what should be a growl into something else entirely.

It doesn’t stop Zelda’s entire arm from shaking.

“I honestly though you’d turn into a wolf.” She said, slowly. 

“I didn’t know what to expect.” He admits. “But it wasn’t this.”

“How does it feel to be a dragon?” Zelda asks

Link shifts, straightening up. 

He is, indeed, a dragon. 

Not like Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal, though. His body is long and slim, yes, but he’s significantly smaller and vastly shorter than their own serpentine forms. He has wings upon his back, stretching wide, while they soar through the air simply by their own divine providence. They are rivers of scale and crystal and power. Link can feel fur and tufts feathers over his body.

He lets himself move, testing every limb. He’s a lot more... _flexible_ , now. He can keep twisting and curling long after the point that he would have been forced to stop as a Hylian, and that’s impressive, because Link was already pretty flexible.

Zelda grabs her waterskin, eyes still scanning over him, no doubt taking in every detail of his new shape.

Link hums.

Link could say a lot of things. Link would be able to tell Zelda so much that she could spend hours writing it all down. Link could say things that would be profound and meaningful and amazing.

That is not what Link choses to say.

“My body is so floppy I feel like a wet noodle.”

Zelda chokes on her drink, and coughs out the water that didn’t go down. She sucks in a breath of air, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “Of all the things you could have said, you chose _that_?”

“It’s true.” He defends. 

“You’re a dragon.” She says, flatly. “A _dragon_.” She repeats to herself, getting a bit of a silly grin on her face. “How did that even _happen_?”

“It is not too surprising.” Fi finally chimes in, floating a bit closer. “Master Link is not the Hero of Twilight, and so stands to take a different form than he would. Their circumstances are different.”

“But a _dragon_ , Fi!” Zelda says. “Nearly mythical.”

“Most species of dragons are magically powerful creatures.” Fi states. “While all known currently existing dragons are Spirit Dragons, historically, they were not as rare. Feathered dragons are an uncommon genus of an already uncommon taxonomic family, but most known examples were typically benevolent. This fits Master Link’s abilities, appearance, and attitude.”

“Feathered dragons.” She marvelled.

“Additionally, many cultures ascribed to Dragons a behaviour of hoarding precious gems and metals.” Fi continued. “Which also fits Master Link’s habits.”

Now it was Link’s turn for his jaw to drop open. 

Of all people, he had never imagined that _Fi_ would turn on him like that.

Zelda throws her head back and _laughs_. “Accurate!”

“I don’t hoard.” He sighs.

“Blatant lies!” She declares. “I saw all those gems you picked up. What was the final count, Fi?”

“Five hundred and seven, not counting Luminous Stones.” Fi stated.

Zelda’s laughter trailed off. “Five hundred and seven?” She blinks. “That’s... No, actually, that sounds approximately accurate. You went after every Silver and Gold monster you could find, and I know you picked most of Eldin clean.”

“I use them, Zelda.” He says. “It isn’t hoarding.”

She scoffs. “It is, and you know it, but for the moment, that doesn’t matter, because you’re a dragon, and we have all sorts of new tests to do.” She walked over and grabbed her Sheikah Slate again. “First, though, a picture of yourself, so you know what you look like.” 

She holds up the Sheikah Slate. There’s a clicking noise, and she examines the picture for a moment before turning it around so he can see.

His assessment of himself had been pretty accurate, he’s happy to find.

His body is long and slim, though his wings are comparatively quite large. He’s got fur and feathers rather than scales. Most of the feathers are on his wings, but there’s a set that fans out at the tip of his tail, as well as a few stray tufts along his neck and back. His stomach and the underside of his neck are white, but most of the rest of his body is a shade of blond similar to his hair colour. His face has a snout that’s shorter than the three Spirit Dragons, which combines with his fur to make an overall softer, though still regal impression. His eyes are still the exact same shade of blue. His ears are long, and hang to frame his face similar to how his hair did.

He has horns, now. A straight pair that stick backwards and slightly up, surrounded with longer fur that make for a nice mane.

“Somehow, you’re still handsome, even as a dragon.” Zelda says, amused. She steps a big closer, and reaches up to brush her hand along his neck. It’s another sensation he can barely feel through the fur. “And your fur is so _soft_.” She marvels. “You would make a great pillow.”

He huffs.

“First things first, making sure you can change back.” Zelda says. “Fi?”

Fi nods. “Are you ready, Master Link?”

“Yes.” He says.

The Master Sword shines. It’s interesting to look at. Now that he’s like this, he’s more sensitive to magic than ever. Fi’s power reaches out, and Link watches as she prods, briefly at the Twilight power, before giving the weave a short pull.

Link returns to his normal shape as shadows explode off of him, condensing back into the Shadow Crystal.

It is... _jarring_. All of a sudden, his senses feel so limited. His shape, snapped back into place.

“Well, you didn’t end up permanently transformed, so I’d call that a success.” Zelda smiled. It slips a bit when she sees his expression. “Is something wrong?”

“Just... adapting.” He says. “The dragon’s senses were... more.”

“By all means, change back.” She said. “Still more things to do, after all.”

Link picks up the crystal. The transformation is much faster, this time. A bit less... _unpleasant_ , too.

“Better?”

Link feels for the weave of Twilight power, considering it. “Just a moment. I want to try something.”

Fi had used her power to pull at it. He had magic of his own, and he’d managed to get rid of the curse. Could he push the Twilight power off?

He hummed, focusing. 

He pokes it with his own power, examining it. Twilight power is curious, but... understandable. A part of it feels a little... _looser_ , so Link pulls at it-

Zelda blinks when the shadows burst off of him again. “You can do that yourself? Excellent. I’m making a note here, Link. Huge success.”

Link smiles.

“Which means-” She grins. “We can get to the _details_.”


	18. Chapter 18

Zelda is nothing if not thorough.

She spends the next three hours examining his dragon form closely. She figures out that he’s approximately nine or so meters long from head to tail, with a wingspan slightly larger than that. His height is a bit harder to judge, but his head is always higher than hers in any sitting position unless he’s deliberately lowering it. Weight is something she can’t conclude, but she settles on ‘Lighter than he probably should be for something of his size’. She ends up poking and prodding at the muscles she can feel, which, admittedly, mostly amounts to his head, neck, arms, legs, paws, wings, and tail. Most everything else is covered in an obscuring layer of fur or feathers.

Fur and feathers on which Zelda spends... _perhaps_ a little more time than is strictly necessary. Zelda _had_ been fond of dogs. While he obviously wasn’t one, he also wasn’t going to begrudge her this, because he knew he’d do the exact same thing if he had the chance to feel such a massive wall of fluff like his dragon form.

“I would _really_ like to know how your musculature works.” She says, absently, as her hands and fingers brush through the longer hairs at his head. It’s an excuse, but it is not an unpleasant feeling. Slow, calm, soothing, so he lets her do as she wishes. “How much of this is magic and how much of this is biology?”

“The scanners should still be there in the shrine.” He says. “It could probably tell you.”

Zelda’s hands pause.

Link twists his neck around. It’s a lot longer than it used to be, and he’s flexible enough to do that, now.

Zelda stares forwards, eyes looking at him but not _looking_ at him.

“You forgot about that, didn’t you?” He can’t help but tease.

Zelda turns away, hiding her face, but Link can sense the blood rushing to her face, the way her cheeks heat, and turning away does nothing to hide it from him.

He chuckles. “Let’s go, then.”

“Up for a walk?” She asks. 

Link is still getting used to the whole ‘four legs’ thing. It’s a lot different from walking on two legs. His body weight distribution is completely different, and the addition of wings and tail _do not_ make the matter any easier. 

Standing still? Easy. 

Walking? He’s... wobbly. He hasn’t fallen over, but there’s been a few close calls.

But he does need to actually get used to it, so he walks.

Zelda, despite being much smaller in stature, still keeps up with nothing more than a steady pace. 

She does have to speed up a little as he gets used to it and stops needing to think about how to move his legs.

They arrive at the Shrine of Resurrection, where Link has to transform back in order to actually _fit_ in the entrance of the shrine, but from there it’s nothing more than an elevator ride down.

Maz Koshia is still meditating when they get back, but the Monk looks up when they come down. Zelda explains the situation.

“A dragon?” The Monk’s head tips in what Link is beginning to recognize as curiosity. “Intriguing.”

Link transforms, and steps on the same scanner he’d used earlier that very day. Another hour passes in an indeterminate moment, and Link rematerializes to find both Zelda and Maz Koshia closely examining their Slates.

“What is with his wing structure?” Zelda is questioning. “It has feathers, and it visually _appears_ like bird wings, but the actual underlying form is closer to bat wings, without the membrane or foreclaw!”

“It is an uncommon morphology.” Maz Koshia agrees. “And near entirely unique to the Manuscornu Genus. Dragons with this morphology possess something of a mix between traditional bird wings, with an inner set of ‘secondary’ feathers, and bat wings, with most of the outer feathers spanning from the set of fingers and filling the space.”

“ _Why_?” Zelda asks. “What’s the point? How did something like that arise? What’s the mechanical advantage of having such a mix?”

“The outer portion of the wings are capable of significant shifting of form. Changing the position of fingers alters the profile and shape of the wings, and allows a balance of flexibility and efficiency in aerial maneuvering.” Maz Koshia stated. “With no membrane, and a layer of feathers to blunt impacts, they are deceptively difficult to damage.”

“And it somehow works for flight?”

“Most dragons achieve flight with at least the assistance of magic.” Maz Koshia points out. “Or rely completely on magic. The structure of their wings does not typically matter as much.”

“What is this about?” Link asks, finally.

“Your body is weird.” Zelda smiles. 

“Magibiology is a scientific field that is not as straightforward and exacting as its mundane sibling.” Maz Koshia elaborates. 

“Exciting!” Zelda cheers. 

Link isn’t sure, but he won’t contradict Zelda on it, so he just nods. 

“You seem to know a lot about magic.” He can’t help but note, turning to Maz Koshia. 

“I was educated upon the subject.” Maz Koshia answers. “Though mostly in terms of mechanics and history. By the time I was born, we had already ceased to utilize it.”

Zelda perked up, turning back to the Monk. “The energy source of Sheikah Technology.” She says. “That’s right, Link told me about how he couldn’t sense it.”

“That was by design.” Maz Koshia makes an actual noise that might have been a chuckle. 

“Design?” Zelda repeated. “What is the energy source, anyway?”

“Normalized artificial specific-pattern drawn from chaos through etheric construction.” Mas Koshia explains.

Link stares at the monk with a blank look in his eyes. “I have no idea what that means.”

Zelda doesn’t seem to, either.

The Monk nods. Link is fairly sure he wasn’t expecting them to. “It requires a lesson in history to explain.” He stated.

Zelda already had her Slate ready to go. Link breathed out, and then pushed the transformation back, resuming his normal form. He put the Shadow Crystal back into the Slate, and then made himself comfortable.

“Calamity, in our age, was a threat foreseen.” Maz Koshia began. “Records of previous ages, and revelations from the Goddess Hylia had revealed to us his nature. A dark, corruptive force, that when defeated was reborn again and again. Over the thousand years prior to the battle with Calamity in my time, that force had risen no less than six times.”

“Six?” Zelda questions. “So quickly?”

“Such quick returns have, historically, not been unprecedented. It is known that after the Era of Twilight, Calamity reappeared after only a few hundred years” Maz Koshia stated. Neither Link or Zelda liked that thought at all. “It was defeated, each time, by the Hero and Princess, and laid back into the grave again and again. However, its continuous returns in that time was both extremely uncommon, and actively accelerating. There were two hundred years between the first and second manifestation. One hundred and eighty five between the second and third. When it was defeated the sixth time, only one hundred and thirty years had passed since the last. If this continued, as the trend appeared to be, then there would be devastation.”

He shifted, straightening. “Our technology, then, was already quite advanced, but not yet as capable as you see now. The Sheikah were bade, by the Royal Family, to seek a way of stopping Calamity forever, and so it was that the Sheikah did so.” He shook his head. “From what I read, the initial results were... not promising. Nor, for that matter, were later ones. The only things in existence that had consistently managed to repel Calamity was the Hero and the Princess.”

“But even they were only repelling it.” Zelda noted.

Maz Koshia nodded. “Eventually, the Sheikah concluded that no power that currently existed could do as they sought. The history of the Goddess and the Calamity is long. Both have used every weapon that has existed against the other. Calamity was never successful in striking down the Goddess, but neither has the Goddess been successful in riding the world of Calamity. It was decided, then, that the solution would have to be something new. Something that had not existed before.” He paused. “You have heard the tales of the Golden Goddesses, no doubt.”

Link and Zelda shared a glance. “Yes?” Zelda said, slowly.

“It is said that the Golden Goddesses descended upon the void and brought the world into being from its chaos.” Maz Koshia began. “This is a simplified explanation, but it is true in its ultimate essence. The Golden Goddesses are responsible for most of what exists. Din wrought shape from nothing. Nayru gave it order and law. Farore brought life to the realm.”

“Chaos.” Zelda remembers his earlier words. “You mean-”

“The world and all that exists was sourced, ultimately, from nothing.” Maz Koshia stated. “Why, however, must the work have stopped here?” He asked. “So it was that the Sheikah made the proposal. Goddess Hylia gave her blessings, and the Sheikah sought audience with the Golden Goddesses.”

“Something new.” Link said. 

“It was audacious. Mere mortals, and what they wanted to do. But the Golden Goddesses allowed it.” Maz Koshia said. “The Sheikah were permitted to expand upon the Great Work of the Golden Goddesses. The work was long, but it bore fruit. For Calamity, it was judged; a power inexhaustible, so that Calamity may not overwhelm it. A power variable, that Calamity would not be able to simply bypass it. A power reliable, that it would not change, except by intent, so it could not fall away like magic did. A power that interacts with the Spirit and Soul, so that it could be controlled, and so that it could serve as a weapon against Calamity. A power utilizable by machines, so that we would not have to sacrifice lives to kill the demon. A power subtle, so that Calamity would not see the coming threat.”

“You literally added something new to reality.” Zelda leaned back.

“The design was impeccable.” Maz Koshia stated.

“But...” Link sighed. “It didn’t work. Calamity still exists”

Maz Koshia, slowly, shook his head. “The design was impeccable.” He repeated. “The work, perfect. What the Sheikah sought to create was born exactly as intended. We forged with it new weapons, brought our technology to even greater heights. The Hero, we fashioned an army to protect. Four weapons, symbols of the peoples they represented, we made to weaken Calamity. The plan succeeded.”

He went silent, for a few seconds.

“Until the end.” He said, hat dipping downwards. “All our effort, and we found that, of all things, we had underestimated Calamity’s hatred.” He made a sound that was unmistakably agitated. “Calamity was a Demon. We understood this. But we did not truly appreciate this.”

Link saw his fist begin to clench. “Demons and Deities share one thing in common. Neither are entirely bound to Nayru’s order of the world. Demons are a corruption, and Deities are above it. To what degree any individual Demon or Deity is outside the world varies. For most, it would have likely worked, regardless.”

“But not Calamity.” Link said.

“Calamity’s hatred is transcendent.” Maz Koshia stated. “It has burned since the earliest age of existence. It is matched only by the Goddess’ resolve, and the Hero’s determination. Calamity, we could wound. Calamity, we could kill. Calamity’s hatred, which brings it forth time and again, was beyond our design. The power we created could not destroy it. It would return, so the princess foresaw.”

Maz Koshia’s entire body relaxed. A forced action. “So we changed the plan, since the ending had failed. If we could not make sure it stayed dead for long, then we could, at least, seal it for longer.”

“Ten thousand years...” Zelda said, slowly.

“Ten thousand years.” Maz Koshia agreed. “The longest the world has ever gone without Calamity’s darkness to try and cover it.”

Silence lapsed.

Something new. Literally something new.

The thought was incredible. Link didn’t even _know_ what to feel about that. Awe? That certainly seemed appropriate.

Yet, Calamity had still refused to just _stay dead_. Even in the face of that, it still lingered.  
  
“Ten thousand years of peace and prosperity.” Zelda sighs. “Ruined because of one foolish King.”

Link blinks, then turns to her, raising an eyebrow.

“The Sheikah were banished, do you remember?” Zelda asks. “The King had their technology buried, their research destroyed, and the people oppressed.”

Maz Koshia’s head turned to her. “The King had his reasons.”

“He was a fool.” Zelda repeated, strongly. “After having done so much for Hyrule and its people, _that’s_ what the Sheikah get?”

“I did not say-” Maz Koshia began. “\- that they were good reasons.”

Zelda sighs, again. “Ten thousand years. Can you imagine how much further everything could have gone, if the King hadn’t just _buried_ everything? Ten thousand years of peace and prosperity and _development_ , instead of _regression_? Ten thousand years to plan, and Calamity might have actually been killed completely.”

“Zelda.” Link says, softly. “We can change anything that happened in the last three months. We can’t change _that_. It’s pointless to dwell.”

Her face goes from determination to something calmer, more sorrowful. She slumps a little in her seat as she settles down. “You’re right.”

The treatment of the Ancient Sheikah had always been an issue to her. Him, too, honestly.

“How did it even happen?” She turns, looking back to Maz Koshia. “It’s the Queen who holds the political power in Hyrule. How was the King able to just... bury everything? Especially in the wake of Sheikah technology being used to fight Calamity?”

“It did not happen immediately.” Maz Koshia states. “It took nearly a decade for it to start, in fact. The Princess took a husband and ascended to become Queen. She soon became pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy child. She died three weeks afterwards, by what was later determined to be a poison intended for her husband. The King was distraught, and became paranoid. I expect he eventually came to blame the Sheikah, who were sworn to protect the Royal Family.”

“Expect?” Zelda asked. “You don’t know for certain?”

“My fellow Monks and I entered stasis inside of our shrines not too long before the event occured. Our awareness of the outside world was diminished, as a consequence.”

“What happened to the Hero?” Link asked.

“I do not know.” Maz Koshia said. “The Hero exited the Royal Family’s service eight years after the battle with Calamity. He was prone to wanderlust and, eventually left for parts unknown before we went into stasis. If he returned, I was unaware.”

“He just left?” Link said, surprised.

“While it is common that the Hero and the Princess possess close bonds, it does not always happen.” Maz Koshia explains. “Those two shared no special relationship with one another, outside of their statuses.”

Link wasn’t sure he could even _imagine_ not being close to Zelda. The thought of just _leaving_ was one that felt just flatly _wrong_.

“In any case, I believe we have drifted significantly off topic.” Maz Koshia stated. He tapped his Sheikah Slate, and both of theirs beeped. “This contains my observations on your dragon form. It may help you get used to it.”

It’s a bit abrupt, but Link thanks him, before he, Fi, and Zelda head back to the surface shortly afterwards.

Maz Koshia’s observations prove just as thorough as Zelda's, with the benefit of holding even more knowledge. There’s a set of notes for every muscle in his body, diagrams for the aerodynamics of his body, suggested gait patterns for various speeds of movement, some expectations on what his body should be able to do, and even a few notes on how other, similar species of dragons had been able to fly, their preferred habitats, diet, and similar things he might find useful.

Apparently, he should be able to breathe fire (Yes!), but this is more magical than biological, so he’ll have to figure it out himself. That is, unfortunately, a long way off, since he still has trouble even _moving_.

He ends up walking around the plateau for a few hours with Zelda, just getting used to his new body. He gets used to the ‘walking’ part fairly quickly, but the wings still throw him off from what he expects, so he ends up tucking them to his back. One thing at a time.

Zelda, of course, throws suggestions his way the entire time. Most are helpful. Some are her poking fun at him, like when she compares his body to a stretched weasel.

That one actually _does_ help, to her amusement.

Eventually, Zelda gets bored of the same sights, and so suggests going up the mountain. Link transforms back and gives her a Ruby Circlet and his Snowquill Tunic to put on over her normal clothes, she smirks at his protectiveness, and then they head up the mountain.

Link is aware, vaguely, of how it gets colder, but he doesn’t really _feel_ it. He hadn’t really felt hot, either, in the lower parts of the plateau in the middle of the day. Hebra is colder and the Gerudo Desert is hotter, but there’s time to test temperature extremes later.

The sun was hanging low in the sky by the time they’d started walking. The small cliff is easily passed, because Zelda hangs onto him and he basically just steps up it. They make it to the base of Mount Hylia when it’s just beginning to set. Zelda suggests going up the winding path, and they do. 

Link can’t actually make it all the way to the top in this form, because the peak is a bit too small for him. He _could_ go up, if he wanted to knock over the stone arrangement at the top, but that would be disrespectful to whoever made it, and it would be a tight fit anyway.

Fortunately, the path levels out slightly below the peak, and that section is wide enough that he can fit easily.

“This is the first sunset I’ve seen with my own eyes in a hundred years.” Zelda says, standing next to him. “You’ve probably heard that a lot from me.”

“A few times.” He admits. “But I don’t mind. There’s a lot of time between these three days.”

She smiles. It’s a bit sad.

“I’ve come to terms with it.” He says.

“You shouldn’t have had to.” She responds. “But you’ve probably heard that from me, too.”

“It’s a bit more common.”

She huffs a laugh.

“This is new, though.” He speaks, after a moment.

“Standing on the peak with me as a dragon?” She turns her head slightly towards him.

“Not just the dragon part.” He shakes his head. “We’ve stood and watched the sunset, before. But not from Mount Hylia. Not in the snow.”

“Take me somewhere else, next time.” She smiles. “Keep it cold, though. This tunic is very soft. And warm. Kind of like you, at the moment.”

He can see what she’s angling for. She’s not subtle.

But if that’s the game she wants to play, then he is going to tease her a bit.

Link shifts his tail, slightly, so that the tip is just behind her feet. It’s a slow movement, and she doesn’t notice.

“I do feel very soft and very warm.” He says. “Really helps in this place.”

She shifts, moving, and that’s his queue.

Time slows. Link moves his tail, pushing at Zelda’s legs. He’s got more than enough muscle to do it, and he sees her mouth open in surprise as her legs are suddenly no longer on the ground.

Link moves to the side, keeping his tail underneath her but curling his body around her. She ends up sitting on his tail, her back leaning against his stomach, and he curls a wing out over her, leaving only her head exposed.

Link releases his hold of time, and the most _adorable_ yelp escapes from her. He feels her fingers grab at his feathers, tensing briefly, before her mind catches up to his actions. There’s a slight blush on her face as she turns her head to glare at him.

His lips twitch. He doesn’t show his teeth, because they’re large and sharp and terrifying, but it’s a smile regardless.

“Do I make a good blanket as well as a good pillow?” He hums.

She scoffs, turning away. He can feel her hands brush across his feathers.

She sighs, after a moment. “You do.” She says. “And wipe that smug look off your face.” She didn’t even bother looking back.

He definitely does not wipe the smug look off his face.

Silence falls, again, but it’s comfortable. The stars soon begin to emerge. The night sky is always beautiful, but with these eyes, it’s something else entirely.

A few more hours pass like that. It’s time he could be using for something else, but at the moment... He honestly can’t bring himself to care. This is nice, and, well, he still has two more days.

“I’m going to miss this.” He realizes. 

“Hmm?” 

“Being a dragon.” He says. “I’ll have to get the Shadow Crystal back, next time. That will take a month or so.”

“I guess you will just have to learn to transform with your own magic.” She shrugs.

“Yes, I’ll just go out and do that. Easy.” He snorts.

Zelda goes to say something, but it’s interrupted by a yawn. “I might actually end up using you as a bed.” She muses.

“The Energizing Elixirs are wearing off.” He says, gently. “You’ll be falling asleep, soon.”

She yawns again. “Yes. I’m beginning to feel it.”

“We can use the Slates to go back.” He says. “Or I can carry you.”

“You do need the exercise.”

“You’re an appropriate weight, with all the pastries you’ve eaten.”

Her knuckles rap against his neck, but it’s playful, not hurt.

“On my back.” He says.

Link ends up carrying her down the mountain. Or, rather, Zelda lays across his back, face buried in his fur, cocooned by the feathers of his wings. Zelda is dozing, by the time they’re at the base, and nearly completely out of it by the time he reaches the Shrine of Resurrection. She maintains just enough energy to walk inside, and then she’s leaning on him as he takes her to her quarters. 

“Goodnight, Zelda.” He says, and she mumbles something that might be a goodnight in turn, but she’s asleep the moment her head hits the pillow.

Link goes to sleep not long afterwards.

Day two starts in much the same way as the first. Breakfast, planning, Energizing Elixirs. Zelda, however, is not content to just laze it away, and so it’s time for actual, strenuous activity. He starts the day walking. He can run, and not trip over his own feet, by the end of it.

Day three starts later. Zelda wants to be awake for midnight, and so sleeps in a bit longer. She has him doing maneuvers and agility exercises for most of the day. Transitions from running to walking, turning corners sharply, finding ways to handle his momentum. Flexibility, agility. She tells him she’d like to see him fly, but they both know it isn’t going to happen this time.

Midnight creeps closer. Link transforms back into a Hylian, and Maz Koshia sets him up on the larger machine.

There’s a slot in the center, shaped for the Master Sword. There’s also a chair, so Link can sit there and hold onto it without problems.

“You will not feel anything.” Maz Koshia states. “The machine will scan you, and all of its data will be routed into the Master Sword. The longer you hold, the more data it will gain, and the more useful it will be in the next loop.”

Link nods.

Zelda gives him one last hug, before handing her Sheikah Slate to Maz Koshia. Maz Koshia taps it to a terminal, and the Master Sword briefly glows.

“Data saved.” Fi reports, and he can’t help the spark of relief that goes through him.

11:59.

White blossoms under his skin. The _something else_ pushes against time. Link pushes back.

Every second is a battle that he doesn’t want to lose. The first ten are easy. The second, slightly harder. The third, actively difficult. The fourth are draining every bit of strength he has.

Link holds on, still. Just a bit more, just a bit more, _just a bit more_.

12:00:45.

Time slips from his grasp.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

It never gets any easier. Three days, and every single time, the end of them feels like a knife being lodged in his ribs.

But he’s closer now than ever before to ending them. One day, they won’t end. Link isn’t going to stop until that day comes.

Time to get on with things.

Link opens his mouth as he prepares to straighten up. The words he always says are on the tip of his tongue.

But his hand doesn’t touch the stone of the Bed of Resurrection, and suddenly, he can’t speak at all. His hand touches something else, something that shifted as he pushed against it.

His heart skips a beat, and then tries very hard to make up for it.

Something terrifyingly familiar. Something warm.

Link forces himself to breathe, despite the hammering in his chest. 

And then Link looks down.

White hair. Red and blue markings. His face.

The Fierce Deity Mask stares back up at him.

“ _Link?_ ” Zelda’s voice asks. There’s a note of concern, worry, a hint of fear. “ _What is **that**?_”

Link just about leaps out of the bed. He goes to the Sheikah Slate, and quickly retrieves it. The Mask, he all but shoves onto it, and he’s probably more grateful than he should be when it vanishes without complaint. 

Link forces himself to swallow. He opens his mouth.

“I have something to tell you, Zelda.”


	19. Chapter 19

The explanation is long. It always is, but this time, with the addition of the Mask, it’s a bit longer still.

Nothing else appears to have followed him, though. The Sheikah Slate is empty of anything, and nothing has mysteriously appeared in the Shrine of Resurrection. Link... is grateful for that.

Link opens the cave. 

“ _I am here, Master Link._ ” Fi chooses a different set of words, again. It’s her way of telling him she’s back, again, that she remembers the last loop.

He’ll go to get her soon, but first...

Link pries the plate off of the pedestal in the Shrine of Resurrection. Maz Koshia is shortly informed. Link gives him the instructions from his past self. 

Maz Koshia wishes him well, and then Link is off.

Korok Forest.

Fi doesn’t say it, but she’s nearly as unnerved as he is, when he tells her about the Fierce Deity Mask. He can read it in the way she stops affecting all the little gestures she’s learned over time, body language becoming stilted and mechanical.

The fact that it had come with him merely proved what he had already known. The Fierce Deity Mask had never been contained.

Kakariko.

A short conversation with Impa. New clothes. Cotera. Blupees. Absolutely _not_ letting the Fierce Deity Mask become known.

A small distance to Hateno, and then Maz Koshia calls for him.

Return to the Shrine of Resurrection. A mess of cables and wires and repurposed technology, just like last time.

Maz Koshia, with the Interface, lines of light tracing their way up his skin.

“I have good news, for you.” Maz Koshia sets the Interface down. 

Link looks up, sheathing the Master Sword on his back.

“The scanners were successful.” Maz Koshia says, and for a moment, it feels like Link’s heart is about to leap out of his chest. “Calamity’s power was detected during the forty five seconds you held the end of the loop off.”

Link stares at him. He had not allowed himself to _hope_. 

“It will take time to analyze.” The Monk shifts, slowly standing up. “But we have a new avenue to research, now.”

Link breathes in, then out. His cheeks hurt, and it takes him a moment to realize he’s smiling. He ducks his head, but he can’t suppress the laughter from escaping, completely. “It’s more than I ever had before.”

Maz Koshia nods. “With the benefit of information, I can safely say that it will still require at least three months to construct the necessary equipment.”

“If you need me to get you anything, just say the word.” Link says. There were all sorts of Guardian parts he could acquire, if he needed to. Purah and Robbie might be able to supply...

Link blinks. “What if you had help?”

“What ‘help’ are you thinking of, in this context?” Maz Koshia asks.

“There’s a few Sheikah scientists I know.” Link answers. “They’re not... _you_ , obviously, but Purah managed to upgrade the Runes on the Sheikah Slate, and Robbie works with a lot of Ancient equipment. They have their own assistants, too. Jerrin figured out how to automate production of some Ancient technology, and Symin... Symin works with sensors.”

Maz Koshia gives a considering hum. It takes him a few seconds to respond. “More hands with basic competency in regards to Sheikah Technology could not hurt.” He decides. “Though this area is not currently liveable.”

“If I go visit the Shrines through Necluda, it will take me a week or so to get to Hateno, where Purah and Symin are.” Link says. 

“That should be enough time, if they are willing to allow, at first, substandard living arrangements.”

“For the chance to work with an Ancient Sheikah Monk?” Link asks. “I don’t think they’d even hesitate.”

‘Don’t think’ probably aren’t the right words. Knowing the Sheikah researchers’... _tendencies_ , they’d jump on the opportunity regardless. 

“And I’m fairly certain ‘substandard’ for you is still fairly good.” Link finished.

“Please ask, then.” Maz Koshia agreed.

Link nods. Maz Koshia gives him the Master Cycle Zero, the Vault Key, downloads the notes he’d taken from last time to the Sheikah Slate, and then sends him on his way.

Link goes to Hateno.

“You know an _Ancient Sheikah Monk_?!” Purah grins. “Absolutely I’m going, but how did you actually meet him?”

“It’s a long story.” Link sighs, but tells it.

“A time loop...” Symin frowns, heavily. “It sounds terrible.”

“Also exciting!” Purah cackles. “I feel bad for you Linky, but this is leading to a lot of awesome things!”

Well.

She isn’t wrong. Magic is pretty cool, he won’t lie. And while he hadn’t had it for very long, the ability to turn into a dragon was one he was missing.

Purah commands Symin to start packing. Link kindly offers the inventory of the Sheikah Slate for their use. Purah starts shoving everything in the tech lab into it.

Link hadn’t realized he could fit objects as large as beds or bookshelves into the Sheikah Slate. The Guidance Stone is above the upper limit, but Purah disassembles both it and the Ancient Furnace outside in an hour or so, and the components still fit. According to Purah, it’s mostly a volumetric limit on singular items.

In only a few hours, the entire tech lab has been stripped bare. Even the telescope on the roof gets pulled to pieces.

Purah writes a quick letter for Link to give to Impa, and then all three use the Sheikah Slate to go to the Shrine of Resurrection.

“The last time I was here, Robbie and I put you inside of it.” Purah said, slightly subdued. “Not a good memory, that.”

“I’ve woken up in here... more times than I care to count.” Link says. Twenty nine, actually. Because he’s very aware of it.

He activates the pedestal. The elevator rumbles as it descends.

Purah lets out a delighted noise that reminds him closely of Zelda. Symin’s reaction is more restrained, but still intently curious.

It had been a week, but Maz Koshia’s renovations were proceeding at full speed. The central gear shaft was already gone, along with a fair portion of the other mechanisms and gears. It freed up a lot of vertical space, but the side rooms hadn’t been remodelled, yet. The pool of lava just down to the right of the steps was gone, but not filled in, so there was just a sudden drop. A simple table was right next to the door, five Sheikah Slates on it.

“Intriguing.”

Link looks up.

Maz Koshia is hanging, upside down, from one of the remaining mechanisms, a pair of glowing tools in his hands as he works on... something. Link isn’t sure what.

He pulls out something small a moment later, and then puts it away, clipping both tools to his side. He drops, flipping over in mid air, and landing on his feet, dipping into a bow of greeting at the same time.

“Link spoke of your skill with Runes, but for an old soul to have such a young body...” He straightened up, nodding towards Purah. “I am impressed.”

“Oh ho ho ho _ho_ ~!” Purah laughed, giving a brief but respectful bow of her own, before advancing. “Check it! Linky told me about you, but you’re even better in the flesh!”

Link, briefly, had a thought that he might have made a terrible mistake.

Symin stepped forwards, pushing his palms together and bowing deep at the waist. “It is an honour to meet you, Elder Monk. I am Symin, assistant researcher.”

Maz Koshia nodded, returning a less deep version of the same gesture. Appropriate, considering his higher status and greater knowledge.

Purah and Maz Koshia get along like a house on fire. Symin is normally Purah’s balancing mechanism, but he too is caught up in the scientific fervour that’s beginning to brew.

Link quietly and carefully dodges his way out of that one. He grabs one of the spare Sheikah Slates, and then busies himself transferring all the stuff Purah and Symin had stuffed in his Sheikah Slate into it. It takes about half an hour, only ten minutes into which Maz Koshia had recruited Purah and Symin to rip apart a few more Ancient mechanisms, after probing them of their skills in the matter.

Zelda is going to be very jealous.

When he’s done with the other Sheikah Slate, he tells them that he still has to go get Robbie and Jerrin. Maz Koshia sends him off with two of the spare Slates, one for Robbie and one for Jerrin.

The fact that Purah failed to react to him telling her that Robbie would be coming was an indication of how much attention she wasn’t paying him. She had been hiding the de-aging thing, after all.

Link makes the strategic decision to get going while the going is good.

From the plateau, he heads to Zora’s Domain. Vah Ruta’s imminent threat to Hyrule is shortly defused, and he then heads to Akkala.

“Time loops?” Jerrin shakes her head, softly. “That sounds terrible.”

“At least it affords us an opportunity to learn.” Robbie says.

Between the two new Sheikah Slates, Jerrin and Robbie are packed up and ready to go in only a few hours. 

Purah and Symin have been with Maz Koshia for only nine days.

By the time they get back, the entirety of the mechanisms have been removed, and most of the left side of the facility is gone. There’s four haphazard quarters in their place. Most of the stone is unadorned, ill-fitting, and it is fairly obviously slapped together, but it is liveable.

“You _did_ turn yourself into a child!” Robbie points an accusing finger at Purah.

“And you’re _still_ my height!” Purah cackled.

They go back and forth on their old jokes, now with new material. They weren’t any different one hundred years ago.

Maz Koshia introduced himself, and both Robbie and Jerrin do the same. Cherry the Ancient Oven is shortly unveiled.

“You managed to modify a Guidance Stone with artificial intelligence, material converters, and automatic assemblers.” Maz Koshia hums. “After an apocalypse and with no formal education on the principles of our technology. Magnificent work.”

Robbie and Jerrin _preen_.

“It can still be refined, but this shall accelerate our work significantly.” He says. And like, all the Sheikah erupt into a storm of intense enthusiasm.

There’s a saying about how discretion is the better part of valour, and Link now finally finds himself understanding it. Whatever he’s unleashed here, there’s no controlling it now. The only hope he has is to be as far away as possible, and hey, look at that, Link still has to free the Divine Beasts and open the shrines, he should really get on that...

Link goes to Gerudo Desert. Vah Naboris’ choking of Gerudo Town abates. The Yiga Clan’s numbers plummet. 

Link gets a shovel, and goes to Arbiter’s Grounds. Now’s a moment he’d have really appreciated Revali’s Gale, but to go out to Tabantha would delay this even further, and Link has already waited a month.

It’s night when he actually does his digging, though, so it’s cold instead of hot. With a Ruby Circlet and the Warm Doublet, it’s much more bearable than the alternative.

Link retrieves the Shadow Crystal. It’s been reverted completely to its old state; even the curse on it is back. Link quickly takes care of that particular problem.

Then he has to spend a few hours remembering how to walk. Three days of progress, mostly undone by the month of nothing. Desert sand probably _isn’t_ the best place to relearn, but knowing how to handle all types of terrain is important.

Once he gets used to it again, he’s also faster in this form. He has a lot of stamina, too. No idea how to fly, or even glide, but the dunes do offer an opportunity for him to jump around and try to figure it out.

It was going to be annoying, losing it again. 

But did he _have_ to lose it?

Figure out how to transform with his own magic, Zelda had said. And he still needed something to sink his time into.

Maybe she’d been onto something.

He goes to Tera’s fountain.

“Look at you!” The Great Fairy says, brushing her hands over his fur and feathers. She’s _much_ larger than Zelda, and he definitely feels _this_. “Oh, you are _so_ adorable.”

“Please, Tera.” He says. The Great Fairies’ affections were not wholly unpleasant, but he did wish they’d stop trying to... _pamper_ him.

Tera lets go, reluctantly. “Sorry, boy, but I don’t think any of us could tell you much of anything about transformation magic. It’s not exactly common, anymore.”

Link had a feeling she’d say that.

“Oh, that glum look on your face makes you seem like a kitten.” Tera reaches out to squish his cheeks. “Your magic is pure.” She says. “Maybe you should just try to observe what this Twilight power is doing to you. Who knows, you might be able to replicate it.”

He thanks her. She ends up cooing at him for several minutes before actually letting him go.

Link heads north. He has his first fight with a monster as a dragon; it was a Lizalfos that made poor decisions. It leapt to try and attack, and Link’s claws took its head off its body. 

Link makes a detour through a nearby Bokoblin camp.

His body is strong, agile, and fast. He’s learning, slowly, how to put that to good use. He wouldn’t fight anything that required actual skill, but that was a list that really only compromised Taluses, Lynels, Molduga, and Hinox. 

The sun eventually rises, but Link doesn’t feel tired, so he keeps going. It gets hot, and Link is aware of that, but he’s aware of it in the same sense he’s aware of the cold; knowing it but not really feeling it.

Link travels to the Gerudo Highlands. His resilient, surprisingly fast body gets him there days quicker than he would have otherwise expected to. The higher he gets, the colder it becomes, but it seems like he really has no problems dealing with it. 

He’s ahead of schedule. 

Which leaves him time to do something with.

Well, he still needs to figure out a few things, doesn’t he.

The Highlands, he decides, are a fairly good place to practice. They’re mountainous, there’s a lot of cliffs, and there’s geothermal vents along the Cliffs of Ruvara and the Risoka Snowfield that provide updrafts for him. If there’s any place where he could learn how to glide, it’s here.

And perhaps most importantly, the only person who would see the embarrassing failures would be Zelda. She will absolutely poke fun at him for it, but they both need the humour.

Wins all around.

Link stretched, and then began to climb up a larger rock.

Small steps first. 

He could fling himself off the larger cliffs later.


	20. Chapter 20

The first several tests were not successful. Link is a feathered rock, tumbling end over end and plowing grooves into the snow.

“I would advise refamiliarizing yourself with Monk Maz Koshia’s observations, Master Link.” Fi suggests.

Link does so. Between a Flameblade, the Warm Doublet, and a Ruby Circlet, Gerudo Highlands’ cold isn’t too bad for his Hylian shape.

Link isn’t sure, exactly, what’s actually happening to his clothes and equipment when he transforms, but according to Fi, it’s a spatial pocketing effect similar to Korok Magic. He has no idea how it works, just that it does, and he’s grateful for it.

The next several tests are slightly more successful. Link falls, but he’s able to achieve some amount of directional control to it. The way he positions and shapes his wings matters. The positioning and angling of his body is the same, and as it changes, so too does he need to change how and where his wings are. He starts finding higher places to fall from, because he’s discovered that he deals with heights quite well, and more time in the air helps while he’s trying to figure out how to actually stay in the air.

It’s not easy. 

After the first few hours, he finds that his wings start moving into positions when he’s not focusing on them. Every time they twitch, though, he’s made precisely _aware_ of it, and can’t help but twitch and mess it up. It’s a feeling like when he’s walking or breathing; it happens while he isn’t thinking about it, until the pattern is messed up.

His body knows things his mind doesn’t. Listening to it, doing what is instinctively natural, is difficult.

But he gets there.

Figuring out how to catch the air and slow his fall proves useful, but it isn’t until he starts channeling magic through his body that he’s able to achieve something of an actual glide, though.

Maz Koshia’s observations tell him not to be surprised by this. His body is large and his wings, while larger still, have difficulty producing the needed lift for him to stay airborne. He can use them in assistant jumps, propelling himself with timed flaps of his wings to mix with leaps, but that’s about it.

Magic changes things, as it always does. When he lets it flow, it’s like his entire body gets lighter. It doesn’t just become easier to stay in the air, it’s a dozen little things that all add together. His wings lift him higher. He turns more easily, becoming capable of sharp, agile movements that probably _shouldn’t_ be working, according to physics. Twisting, rolling, cutting through the air, all easier.

Link calls it a win when he’s able to, after several hours of practice, glide from the Gerudo Summit to Mount Agaat, without falling into the Risoka Snowfield.

Actually _flying_ , though? That’s a different story. Flapping his wings, more often than not, just leads to him dropping in the air rather than rising. With some practice, he’s able to ride the air flow from the geothermal vents upwards, but unaided flight on his own...

The most he gets to is ‘not falling’. There’s something he’s missing.

Or maybe he just needs more practice.

So, Link continues. The sun dips below the sky, the stars come out, the moon goes high. Then, as is common on the Gerudo Highlands, another snow storm starts up, and visibility plummets, but that’s no real concern for Link at the moment. He can still see, hear, and smell better than he could as Hylian, so he continues. Focus. Learn.

The only thing that breaks him out of that is when, far later, and probably closer to dawn than dusk, magic pulses in the storm above.

Link looks up. The storm swirls, and yellow light breaks through the clouds. The familiar feeling of Spirit-Divinity-Lightning marks the owner, and Farosh breaks through the clouds only a moment later.

Link actually _had_ known that Farosh appeared up here. Even for him, though, it was a rare sight; he’d only seen it twice because Farosh appeared in the depths of the night, and Link usually had no reason to be either here or awake here so late.

The Spirit was a magnificent sight, as always. Still, Link couldn’t help but notice; no wings, and Farosh _still_ flew better than he did. He had to step it up, didn’t he?

He straightened, facing forwards. Link held his wings back, getting into a preparatory stance. The best way to stay in the air he’d found thus far was to extend and flap his wings as he jumped. After that was... more complicated.

He breathed in, let his magic flow, and then _didn’t_ jump. _Attention_ settled upon him like a weight on his shoulders; heavy and distinctly noticeable.

Link, slowly, looks back up. 

Farosh was looking at him. One pink-blue-green eye, fixed upon him. There was no malice in the gaze, just... curiosity, perhaps.

Farosh twists, coiling in the air. The three Spirit Dragons were usually unflappable existences, passing over the world without deigning to notice much of anything.

Farosh, now, was turning for him. The Spirit Dragon lowered, its massive body filling the canyon that he had been about to jump into. Balls of lightning drifted away from it, though none, thankfully, towards him.

Farosh’s presence filled the air. It pressed against him, and Link shudders.

“ **Familiar being.** ” The concept writes itself into his mind, his soul. Farosh is speaking, but the language is more than something conceived by mortals. What Farosh says goes beyond just words. Farosh knows him, knows who he is, knows _what_ he is.

“ **Different shape.** ” Farosh wonders at his changed appearance. The body that differs from his soul. Farosh can sense the Twilight power that has transformed him. Farosh is curious, because while he is a Hero, his body is that of a dragon’s.

“A crystal.” Link explains. “From the age of Twilight.” 

Fi materializes. Farosh’s eye flicks, with a moment that’s so slight it’s almost imperceptible, to her. She pulses with a chime, speaking not his own language, but that of the Spirit’s. An explanation of her own.

Farosh’s eye flicks back. “ **Young body.** ” Farosh declares. Both in terms of how long Link has had it, and in the maturity of the shape. It’s not a fully grown adult, as neither is Link himself. 

“ **Old soul.** ” His mind is older. Used to a different body. His spirit is older still, older than even Farosh. The Spirit respects him. The Spirit can see through him. Farosh knows he has faced hardships.

“ **Your shape.** ” The Spirit says. Make the shape his. Figure out how to take it, without needing the Twilight power. Farosh believes he can. Farosh knows he can. 

“ **Seek then.** ” And when he’s done so, seek the Spirit Dragon. Farosh will be waiting.

Farosh shifts, uncoiling, and swims back into the sky. Its attention drifts off of Link, and he sucks in a breath.

“Oh.” Link says.

He slumps, just about collapsing. 

The Spirit Dragons had always been awe-inspiring beings. There, real, large, with elemental power shrouding their forms. Link had seen them many times.

That did not mean he had been at all prepared for one to suddenly _speak_ with him.

“Okay.” He breathes. 

Make the shape his. 

He was still a few days ahead of schedule, and he still hadn’t figured out how to really fly, yet, but...

Well. It’s not exactly something he disagrees with.

But if he’s going to try this, he’s going to do it somewhere warmer. 

Link and Fi head to Faron. The route they take is a much more meandering one than normal. Link, for the most part, avoids civilization.

Link uses the time it takes to follow Tera’s advice. He constantly transforms, whenever he’s out of sight, whenever there’s nobody nearby to see it, and focuses on the feeling of the Twilight power flowing across his body. It is, ironically, something that would have been easier in reverse, because Link’s dragon form has much sharper senses, but the transformation into it does rather preclude him being able to examine it like that.

Link and Fi deal with it. After the first few days, he tries to replicate it. He gets the first part right, the spreading over his skin, but when he tries to replicate the feeling of _change_ , he can’t get it quite right, unfortunately. What happens, then, is that the magic fizzles and spins out of control. It’s not harmful, just a bit wasteful.

He keeps trying.

He learns something, as he’s crossing Faron. The region is currently being plagued with storms, as it often is, which means that it’s raining. Link had thought he’d end up wet and soggy, but no. Water basically just slides off of him. With a bit of testing, he finds that it’s not just water; most things that would make him dirty don’t really stick. Mud, dust, water, monster blood. According to Fi, it’s probably magic, an adaptation to prevent dirtying of the body, and also stop him from being weighed down. It’s convenient, especially since he finds he can actually swim pretty well, in this form.

His ability to dive under the water, though... It was a lot more difficult. He has to really try in order to stay under. His fur traps air, apparently.

Farosh emerges from Lake Hylia as Link is crossing the bridge. The Spirit Dragon glances at him for a brief moment, but is evidently able to see his lack of success, so it’s just a glance before Farosh continues on. Link acquires one of its scales and offers it to the Shrine of Courage.

He takes a brief pause from his task, then, because he’s at Dracozu Lake, and there’s a question that needs answering.

If the Fierce Deity Mask was with him, then what happened to the Vault it had been stored in?

Link gets digging. The Vault itself is the same as before. The voice of the vault, whoever or whatever it belongs to, seems unaware of any changes. One Simulacrum, two, then it opens the door.

There’s nothing inside.

Link will admit, he’s pretty relieved by that. He had been thinking, for a short moment, that he might somehow find... _something_. He’s glad that all that seems to have happened is that the Fierce Deity Mask just moved.

Link continues. There is a fair amount of travellers through Faron, but it isn’t too hard to avoid them. His progress in copying the Twilight power also continues, and he gets a bit further each time he tries. It takes nearly two weeks of continuous experimentation before, finally, he succeeds.

It’s a different sensation, when it’s his own magic. Not as _unpleasant_. According to Fi, it even looks different; instead of black geometric shapes spreading across him, it’s white, glowing flecks.

Same form, though. Same ultimate result.

Link cheers when he succeeds. Fi gently pops that bubble of happiness when she tells him to repeat it, and he messes it up again.

It takes another day of practice before he’s able to consistently transform.

Link and Fi go to Riola springs, afterwards. 

Farosh emerges early in the morning, as it usually does. The Spirit Dragon eyes Link, and Link transforms right in front of Farosh. 

“ **Your shape.** ” Farosh acknowledges. Link has truly made it his own, now that he can reach it without needing the Shadow Crystal. Farosh is happy for him.

“ **Intended gift.** ” Farosh states. Link was told to seek Farosh because Farosh believed that it could help him. Farosh is a Divine Spirit who has taken the shape of a dragon. Farosh is the attendant of the Spring of Courage, a disciple of Farore. Link is a Hero, who Farosh considers has shown courage. It is not Farosh’s place to deliver blessings unto Hylians, but Link is not currently a Hylian.

“ **Seek Naydra.** ” After this.

Farosh dips lower. The Spirit Dragon’s horn glows with awesome, terrible power, and then it taps its horn to Link’s head.

Link wakes up several hours later. 

He knows before he even opens his eyes that something is different. There’s a crackling power in his chest. It flows through his body. It’s not unlike Urbosa’s Fury, but it is different and distinct.

“What happened?” He asks Fi.

“You were given a divine gift.” Fi explains. “Farosh has given you a portion of her power. It has merged with your current body and spiritual essence.”

Link stands up. Considering he had just been knocked unconscious for several hours...

“I feel pretty good.” He says. 

The line jogs a memory. He’s said that before. Been in a similar situation, before.

Last time, it was Kaysa shoving a ball of magic into him.

Hmm.

Link looks down.

He blinks.

He raises his forelimb, looking at it. 

“Green marks.” He says, glancing at Fi.

Fi nods. “You have acquired a number of markings across your body. They are aesthetically pleasing, and compliment your colour pallet.”

Well, at least he had that going for him.

Link stretches, testing his muscles. Nothing seems out of place. He doesn’t feel stronger, or weaker. His body feels the same as it usually does.

Link closes his eyes, mentally poking at the crackling in his chest. It’s... strange. Urbosa’s Fury was a source, but this feels more like... a channel.

Link shifts, slightly, and then pauses, suddenly becoming aware of something that _is_ different. There’s a feeling in the air, in the ground which he isn’t sure how to describe. Distortions, everywhere, too. A concentration, there. A spreading, there. There’s... something, in the sky, and an opposite, on the ground.

“Do you know what it is, Fi?” He asks, after describing it.

“It is likely electroreception and/or magnetoreception.” Fi says. “The ability to sense and detect electric and magnetic fields, respectively. The former is mostly seen among marine animals. The latter is common among many lifeforms.”

Link looks at a nearby dark cloud. To him, it feels... _imbalanced_ , somehow. Too much of one thing in some places and too much of its opposite elsewhere.

Link, not entirely sure what he’s actually doing, gives it a poke. Lines of lightning flash in the clouds, and thunder rumbles.

“Evidently, it also includes some ability to manipulate electromagnetic energy.” Fi continues without missing a beat.

More things to get a handle on. Not something he’s going to complain about, since he has the time. Zelda would love it, too.

He could, however, do with a bit of normalcy. Link transforms back. His senses go back to normal. Farosh’s gift... _recedes_ , somehow, as he transforms back.

It wasn’t Farosh’s place to deliver blessings unto Hylians. He hadn’t been Hylian, but now he is. The gift, then, is for his dragon form only.

Well, fair enough.

“Alright.” He says. Farosh’s last words echo through his mind. Seek Naydra. “Let’s go to Lanayru.”


	21. Chapter 21

Getting up the mountain isn’t hard. It never has been, really, but Link can jump fairly high, now. He starts at the Hateno Tech Lab, and then crosses Walnot Mountain to get to the Tahno O’ah Shrine, and then goes more or less straight up the side of the mountain. 

His claws can find purchase in almost anything, but it isn’t exactly steep in the first place.

Link has seen Naydra, before. Many times. Before acquiring magic, seeing the Spirit Dragon corrupted by Malice had been horrifying. After, it had been viscerally terrifying.

This is his first time seeing it with dragon senses, however. It is somehow even worse. The corruption that spreads over Naydra’s scales, that seeps into the Spirit’s being, is all too evident now. The more he can perceive, the worse Calamity gets.

Link coats his claws in magic and rips open the Eye of Malice. The corruption weakens, and Naydra rises into the air, now that the corruption can longer stop it. Link follows, catching the updraft of wind that surrounds the Spirit, and making his way to the next eye.

Slash, slash, slash. One, two, three. Eye, eye, eye. Naydra shivers and shudders, and then the Spirit purges what remains of the corruption.

“ **Familiar being.** ” Naydra greets. The same concepts, pressing into his mind. Something beyond just words. But Naydra intends, here, the same as Farosh did. Link is known by Naydra.

“ **New shape.** ” Naydra notes. A comment on his dragon form. A compliment on how well he was using it. Naydra knows that he hasn’t had it for long.

Link bows his head. “I’m still getting used to it.”

“ **Help rewarded.** ” Naydra says. For rendering assistance to the Spirit, Naydra wishes to help him in turn. Naydra can sense the blessing of Farosh. Naydra finds some amusement in this, but agrees with Farosh. Link is not currently a Hylian.

“ **Seek Dinraal.** ” Naydra finishes.

Naydra’s eyes light up with power, and the Spirit lowers its head to him.

Link, once again, wakes up several hours later.

Naydra’s gift is... different. Farosh’s gift was a channel, but Naydra’s is... encompassing. The power is cool and cold, but the chill is pleasant. It goes throughout his entire body.

He gives it a poke, and even despite the fact that he’s on top of a freezing mountain, he can still feel the temperature _plummet_. The water of the Spring of Wisdom, despite the magic within that has kept it warm, very rapidly begins to turn to ice, spreading outwards from Link.

The Spirit of Ice had given him the power to freeze things. How appropriate.

Of course, that hadn’t been the only thing he’d been given.

Link looks down, checking his fur. “I’m going to look like a rainbow by the end of this, aren’t I?”

“Your blue markings have not merged colours with your normal fur colours or green markings.” Fi reports. “Your wings are an exception, however. Currently, they start white, fade yellow, shift into green, and then reach the same shade of blue as your other markings. Pattern recognition suggests that the addition of Dinraal’s blessing will add purple and red into the mix. Colour theory suggests that this will produce a pleasing appearance. I am certain that Princess Zelda will still find you pretty.”

Link sighed. “Had to work that last one in, didn’t you?”

Fi smiles. He’d helped her learn the intricacies of jokes and humour. Now he was paying for it.

It’s a happy thing.

Link and Fi leave Lanayru. Eldin is the next step of the journey.

Dinraal, of all three Spirit Dragons, is by far the most consistent. Dinraal flies in one long, winding path, beginning in Deep Akalla, winding around the north side of Death Mountain, going west along the Deplian Badlands, and then dipping down into Tanagar Canyon.

Link stops to free Vah Rudania from Fireblight, and then heads up to the Eldin Great Skeleton. Dinraal appears at approximately nine in the morning, as Dinraal always does, and Link timed it well.

“ **Familiar being.** ” Dinraal addresses. Dinraal, like Naydra and Farosh, knows who and what he is. 

“ **New strengths.** ” Dinraal observes. Dinraal can feel the magic within him. Dinraal can feel the power that he is still trying to learn how to use.

Fi chimes with an explanation. 

“ **Your strengths.** ” Dinraal decides. His dedication towards learning impresses Dinraal. To master what others have given him, to further heighten his own abilities. Farosh and Naydra’s blessings resonate within him, and Dinraal too finds some amusement in this.

“ **Deserved blessing.** ” Dinraal says last. The Hero has saved Hyrule time and time again. Dinraal will help, but it is up to Link to make good use of Dinraal’s blessing.

The shimmering waves of heat intensify, and the Spirit descends upon Link.

For the third time this loop, he wakes up hours later.

Dinraal’s gift is a power in his heart. Warm and strong, yet pleasant, like a hot summer day.

Link draws in a breath, and Dinraal’s gift ignites in his lungs. A burning blast of fire streams out of his mouth and sets the ground ablaze. It’s a fire of an odd color, more red than orange, but it’s a strangely familiar one. Which of his past selves had seen it?

Did it really matter?

He was a dragon, and _finally_ , he could breathe fire.

And, just like he’d predicted, he was also a rainbow.

Link stretches out his wing, turning his head to look at it. White at the base, then yellow, then green, then blue, then purple, then ending in a magnificent red.

Fi had been right, honestly. It _did_ look pretty good.

“At some point, I need to get Zelda to take a picture of me. Find out what I really look like” He says. “How’s the markings?”

“Complementary to each other, and your own fur.” Fi reports. “They do not merge, but the patterns are designed to go together.”

Link nods.

“Alright.” He says. “Back on track, then.”

Link and Fi go to Tabantha. Rito Village is as pretty as always, but this time, Link pays special attention to the Rito and the _how_ of their flight. He still can’t properly fly, after all.

It’s actually Kass’ five children that end up giving him the clue he needs. They’re small, with tiny, underdeveloped wings. Yet somehow, they fly, rising into the air. It’s magic, of course, but magic that Link can see. There’s a lot that goes into it, but the part he’s missed is that they change the air around them. When they flap, their wings catch more than they should. The way air flows over their wings creates more lift than size alone would command.

The element of wind, written into their very being. Link had thought about that, before, when he was experimenting with Revali’s Gale. 

His dragon form is meant to fly. It has wings, after all.

Link goes to Hebra. Of course, it ends up snowing, but honestly, that might actually be a blessing, because the snow will hide his now _very_ eye-catching form. He climbs to the peak of Hebra Mountain, and then flings himself right off the edge.

Link does not fear heights, and if all else fails... Well, he now possesses Revali’s Gale.

Link glides, for a few moments, doing his best to stay steady. He lets his magic flow, and then lets it spread from his wings. The difference is instantly notable, as his speed increases and his descent slows. Link breathes in, lets more magic flow out, and then twists, flapping his wings-

And ascends almost straight up. 

Link _laughs_. Finally, true flight! 

He twists, levelling out of his ascent, and then pitches forwards, tucking his wings to his side as he begins to dive.

A few seconds of freefall, and the surge of adrenaline is something else. Link spreads his wings and catches himself, fall transitioning to a smooth burst of sideways speed. Link twists, angling himself to follow the mountain, and it actually works. He turns, facing towards the passage that leads into Coldsnap Hollow, and angles his wings, gliding down it. There’s an overpass from the surrounding mountains, and Link grins widely as he passes underneath.

He banks right, and then left, passing over Lake Kilsie and going into Sturnida Basin. The hotsprings steam invitingly, but Link is a bit too busy enjoying this to even think about that. So he banks right again and faces towards the rising land that leads towards the Biron Snowshelf. 

He flaps, rising up alongside of it, before twisting and doing another near vertical rise at the base of the Hebra North Summit. He levels out once he gets to the higher parts, and then curves his flight to loop around the summit itself.

He laughed, again. He honestly couldn’t help himself. He dips a bit lower, flying just above the snow, briefly lowering a claw to it. He leaves a trail.

This? This is the most fun he’s had in a while.

Link has never been a particularly envious person, but suddenly, he is feeling a little bit envious of the Rito, who can enjoy this whenever they want. 

And there’s still more to be done, too! 

After all, he now possesses Revali’s Gale.

Link reached for it, calling up the power, and then instantly crashed into the snow as the Gale’s swirling winds utterly ruined his smooth glide.

For a few seconds, Link didn’t move.

“Pride cometh before the fall, Master Link.” Fi commented.

“I was doing so well.” Link groaned.

Link spends several more days flying around Hebra. Flight is an ability that proves itself not only in how fun it is _to_ fly, but also in just how _fast_ it is to fly. Link can cut out _so much_ travelling time. 

It is, admittedly, a bit harder to make use of that fact around civilization, but Link comes up with a perfect plan.

Fly really high. _Really_ high. If he’s high enough that he can barely see people with his incredible senses, nobody is going to notice him. If he actually needs to go to said civilization?

Transform back in mid air. Link has a Paraglider and _more_ than enough time to get it out when he’s dropping from that far up. The freefalling is an adrenaline rush that will take quite some time to get used to.

And, yes, Link will admit some amusement in seeing the looks on people’s faces as they wondered where, exactly, he’d glided in from. It’s a bit of harmless fun.

There is precisely one problem with travelling so fast. Link _travels fast_. Two months since the beginning of this loop, and Link actually runs out of people who need help with their problems, that’s how quickly he travels now. 

Which is a problem, since Link needs to waste time so that Maz Koshia and the others can finish what they’re working on.

Two months.

Link would spend it hunting monsters, but, well... 

Link has already recovered pretty much every mobile Guardian around. When he drops by Kakariko for a visit to Impa, she actually informs him that people have, in fact, noticed that. All the Guardians are gone, and while a few of the stationary ones return with the Blood Moon, something is always destroying them whenever nobody is watching. Monsters are also distinctly less common, too. Something clears the camps at night, when it’s normally too dangerous to travel on account of Keese swarms and the various Stals.

Impa stares at him with a knowing look. She knows exactly who’s responsible for that. 

“The Guardians were made for me.” He says. “Since I don’t really need the protection, they may as well do something useful.”

Impa had raised an eyebrow.

About the only monsters that were worth hunting were Lynels, Molduga, Hinox, and Taluses. Link had already put multiple dents in their populations, however, and there wouldn’t be another Blood Moon for at least two weeks.

Which meant that Link had to resort to extreme measures.

Hide and Seek with Koroks.

Even after all this time, Link was _still_ finding them. There were Koroks _everywhere_. Link had even found Koroks in the damn _castle_ , surrounded by Guardians and monsters and Malice.

Link was up to some four hundred of them when Maz Koshia had finally contacted him, two months and three weeks after the start of the loop.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

“I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see you start shovelling sand in a desert, go into a shrine where I couldn’t see you, come out with a strange crystal with otherworldly powers, and then just suddenly turn into a dragon.” Zelda says. “That was... really something else, Link.”

“I didn’t tell you about that part?” He wondered. He thinks back to the day, trying to recall. “Oh, right. I was distracted by the...”

“ _That_.” Zelda finishes.

“Yes. _That_.” And he was probably going to wake up with it again, in three days time. 

He shakes his head, and offers Zelda the Sheikah Slate. “Ready to see everyone?”

“In the flesh, you mean?” She steps forwards, throwing her arms around his chest. “I can’t wait.”

Link smiles, and taps the mark for the Shrine of Resurrection. They disintegrate into blue light.

Time to face what he had unleashed.


	22. Chapter 22

Last time, when Link had eventually returned to the Shrine of Resurrection’s lower chamber, Maz Koshia had neatly remodelled everything.

With Purah and Robbie (And Symin and Jerrin) having been involved, it looks more like a bomb has gone off. There’s wires, and stray gears, and random power cores, and a laser is bouncing off of a mirror in the corner, streaming into a pool of water that bubbles and steams yet is endlessly refilled by one contraption, and drives a fan of another. Parts of the floor are missing, revealing glowing Ancient Technology mechanisms, and things are attached to or plugged into them seemingly at random.

The left side of the room is similar to how it was set up last time, but instead of having two quarters, there’s another set of three on top of the first two, with winding stairs leading up to the doors. They must be smaller than the bottom two, because there are still only two doors. The right side of the room is dominated by a massive machine in one corner, what looks like a significantly enlarged version of Cherry in another corner, and a few familiar machines dotting the space between them.

It’s utter chaos. It’s very familiar chaos, but the last time Link had seen it was a hundred years ago.

“I am _very_ jealous.” Zelda says, as the elevator finishes descending. Her eyes sweep over the Ancient materials, and Link can recognize that she’s trying to memorize it all, trying to figure everything out.

“Check it~!” A voice says.

It’s a familiar voice. He knows it well. 

It’s not the voice he was expecting.

Link’s head snaps to the side, as does Zelda’s. Purah stands, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.

Purah stands, _taller than him_ , leaning against the wall. She’s young, undoubtedly, but she isn’t _six_ , anymore.

“Purah?!” Zelda startles.

“Princess!” Purah grinned, straightening up. “I am happy to inform you that research into the Age Control Rune has been _completed_ ~”

“I saw you when Link went to get you. You were a child.” Zelda steps forwards, reaching up. Her hands touch Purah’s face, and she stares. Link _does not_ blame her. “You... you look _exactly the same_ as a hundred years ago.”

“Coming from _you_?” Purah’s grin becomes something a little soft. She reaches up, taking Zelda’s wrist, and giving a brief squeeze. “You really did come back to us.” She sniffed. “Goddess, Princess, _it’s good to see you again_.”

Zelda just about leaps forwards, throwing her arms around Purah. They laugh. They cry. Link had told Zelda to expect Purah. Link had not told Zelda to expect this. 

_Link_ hadn’t expected this. 

Link stares blatantly at the scene.

“It really _is_ you...” Another voice says. Also familiar, but he hadn’t heard it in a hundred years. Link turns, and Zelda looks over her shoulder to see as well.

Robbie stands there. He’s taller, too. He looks like he stepped right out of the past, with his coat and a full head of hair, but there’s a few things that are new. Small pieces that have been added. 

Symin and Jerrin are behind him, a little ways back. Both look like they’re having... some kind of religious experience. Considering the stories they were probably raised on about Zelda and how she’s been holding back the Calamity for years, it’s quite possible they _are_.

Jerrin, like Purah and Robbie, looks younger. She’s wearing less makeup, but with how healthy her skin appears, it’s not necessary at all.

Symin is the same, but he appears notably older than the rest. He looks like he’s twenty years younger, rather than just twenty years old.

“Robbie...” Zelda sniffs, smiling with tears in her eyes. Purah lets her out of the hug, but keeps an arm around her shoulders. Zelda laughs, a little watery.

Link hears the sound of steps, and Maz Koshia walks out from behind a machine. The Monk is the odd one out. He looks exactly the same as normal.

“Welcome back.” The Monk greets.

“Hello.” Link says, blinking. He’s still a bit shocked.

It’s been... a long time, since he’s been so off balance.

Link turns back around. Symin and Jerrin are bowing, though Zelda is already trying to get them to stop.

“There is _so much_ stuff we want to show you~” Purah sings. “And now that you’re here, the Nerd Squad has finally assembled!”

“For the last time, it’s the Time Loop Investigation and Prevention Committee!” Robbie shouted, sticking a finger in Purah’s face.

Zelda snorts, ungracefully, and then desperately tries to cover her face and muffle the sound of her laughter. Purah grins widely, and even Robbie can’t help but smile.

The two of them together, young, was a sight he hadn’t expected to ever see again.

“Wise Princess.” Maz Koshia steps forwards, and Zelda turns to him, eyes wide with surprise. He bows, and after a moment for Zelda to remember formal gestures, Zelda does the same. 

“A pleasure to meet you.” She says. Not the formal greeting, but forgivable, under the circumstances. “Again? I’m not sure if...”

Maz Koshia laughs. He holds a hand out, and a Sheikah Slate materializes from winding blue light. 

“Your notes.” He gives it to Zelda, whose eyes light up with eager intrigue. “From last time.”

Zelda takes it reverently, and smiles widely. 

Purah gives her a slight jab with her elbow. “Ready to take a look?” She asks, smiling.

“I can’t wait.” Zelda smiles, before pausing. She looks at her arms, then down at her dress. She reaches up, and tugs at a lock of hair. She licks her lips. “I can wait.” She corrects. “Until after I have a bath.”

Purah giggles. “Oh, we’ve got _those_. We’ve got the best of those. And a whole bunch of other stuff, too!” He dips her head, her hair falling forwards. “Check it!”

Zelda, obligingly, reaches up, poking Purah’s hair. “Soft.” She murmurs.

“Your hair will be _luxurious_.” Purah promises. “We’ve even got you clothes!”

“I have your old travelling set.” Link interjects. Zelda looks back at him, surprised, but smiles gratefully.

“And when she’s travelling, she can wear that.” Purah shakes her head. “But to be a part of the Nerd Squad-”

“Time Loop Investigation and Prevention Committee!”

“- _NERD SQUAD_ , she needs to _look_ the part!” Purah cackles. “We even got some for you, Linky!”

“I’m a member of this?” Link asks

“You’re the research subject!” Purah smiles. “And the one responsible for gathering us in the first place. Also, according to Mazzy, your past self was a nerd as well. You’re an honorary member.”

He clearly did not get an opinion in the matter.

Purah swipes at her side, fingers brushing her Sheikah Slate. Two bundles materialize in her hands, and she immediately passes them over to Link and Zelda.

“Go on!” She waves over to two quarters, giving them a thumbs up. “Princess needs it more than you, Linky, but you’ll appreciate it!”

Zelda catches his eye, and she smiles, tipping her head slightly in Purah’s direction. Link nods, solemn as he can, and Zelda ducks her head to hide her giggles.

Purah’s right, though. He does appreciate the bath. It’s been refined further, since the previous time, and now comes with a few strange tools. Ancient Technology, but the purpose of them is obviously mundange. One is a brush. Literally just a brush. A very effective brush, but still just a brush. There’s a machine that dispenses a strange, soap-like liquid, with clear instructions written on it in Purah’s distinctly childish but neat handwriting. It’s meant for his hair. 

It leaves him feeling like he has a cloud on his head, his hair is that soft by the end of it.

The clothes that Purah had (forcibly) gifted him were similar to Sheikah villager clothes. Dark sleeveless undershirt, beige coat with orange linings, long pants. It’s the subtle differences that give away its origins however; it’s almost perfectly silent, stretches and bends more than any normal cloth yet still returns to shape with no sign of wearing, and he can feel it adapting to his body temperature. It’s cool when he first puts it on, just after the hot bath, and it slowly warms to keep him comfortable. Link hasn’t tested it, but he’d bet it’s surprisingly durable, too. 

It’s a product of Ancient Sheikah Technology. Of that, there can be no doubt.

It is definitely comfortable, though. 

“Lookin’ good!” Purah grins at him, once he walks back out. He’s still in the process of tying his hair up, and she makes a show of looking him up and down, before she purses her lips in a slightly exaggerated manner. “Real good. You look better than I do. How dare you?”

“Apparently, I’m handsome.” Link says, as flatly as he can.

Purah blinks, and then grins. He didn’t often make jokes, Before.

Link finishes tying his hair, and then puts the two sticks into the bun to hold it in place. “How have things been around here?” He asks.

Purah lets out a frankly _unnerving_ giggle.

“Got it.” Link says, because that is _all_ he needed to hear. “You’ve all been having the time of your life.”

Purah leads him to tables at the end of the rooms. Maz Koshia, Robbie, Symin, and Jerrin are all waiting. All but the first are tapping at their Sheikah Slates.

Link has to watch his footing. There’s a path through the mess of half-deconstructed and open machinery, but it’s not an easy one. The tables, too, are filled with what to Link seems like a bunch of random junk, but to the researchers is probably a mix of Ancient, powerful technology and random junk.

The table has clearly only been cleared recently. There’s still not a lot of space, even with the random junk swept to other tables.

“Is there anything important I need to know immediately?” He asks, as he takes a seat.

“Nothing that cannot wait until after the Princess is here.” Maz Koshia says.

Link nods. “She won’t take long, with all the stuff out here. Eight minutes, I think.” He reaches for his Sheikah Slate. “I’ve got a lot of food with me. Anybody hungry?”

Everybody takes food. Zelda walks out her door exactly eight minutes later. Her hair is, indeed, luxurious, shining in the light.

More than that, though, Zelda herself looks _radiant_. She’s happy and the happiness emanates from every part of her. She looks good in the clothes that Purah had given her. Different to her normal travelling set, and, _oh_ , Link realizes, _that was the point_.

Zelda loved her travelling set. She loved it for the trousers, for its simpler design to the royal dresses, for the _freedom_ it represented to her.

But there was no questioning that the set as a whole had been a compromise. Zelda was the Hylian Princess, so of course, it _had_ to have the royal blue with the golden edgings. It _had_ to have the white midsection, and the white collar, and the white forearm sleeves. It should be long, befitting her status, with a skirt-

 _No_ , Zelda had argued. _It was meant to be travelling clothes_. Trousers. Fingerless gloves. A shirt that hung tight, not flowed loose. The tailors had claimed improperness.

Zelda had spent _weeks_ fighting, tooth and nail, with them, with her father, to get it trimmed. She had argued, with an endlessly calm voice and countless reasonable justifications. 

She had not gotten all she wanted. But the victory had been to have part of her own choice in what she wore.

It still had the blue, and the white, and the gold. A reminder to a role that had sat heavy on her shoulders for so many years.

The Sheikah outfit she’s clothed in now has _none of that_. Her old travelling outfit, she loved. This new one, gifted by Purah, so similar to what Purah and Robbie had always worn when they were in the labs, represents the life she had always wanted to live. 

A researcher. Free of all responsibilities save her own curiosity.

Purah had regained years, and, it seemed, regained some maturity with them. Sheikah to the core, she’d given such a thoughtful gift, and then hid it with enthusiasm.

Link hands Zelda a fruitcake, and she thanks him sincerely.

“I finished analyzing the data quite some time ago.” Maz Koshia says, after everybody is seated and digging into their food. Maz Koshia himself is already done with his. “And I can confirm that this time loop is sourced from Calamity.”

Vindication for Zelda.

He presses at his own Sheikah Slate, and all of their beep. What shows up is more graphs, mixes of lines, and data that Link has _no idea_ how to read. This is not unusual.

“That red line is Calamity’s magic.” Purah leans over to Zelda, gesturing down at the slate. “And, see how this matrix is oscillating? That’s a visualization of a spell structure.”

“The effect itself comes from a magic formed by Calamity.” Maz Koshia continues. “The sensors, due to their general configuration, were not able to examine it closely, but as far as I can tell, the magic functions by pulling your soul back through time. I am not certain as to the particulars of how it does this, nor how it manages to escape the sight of Goddess Hylia, but I believe the effect is contained entirely within the magic itself. If, then, the magic is deconstructed-”

“The time loops should end.” Link finished.

Maz Koshia nodded.

Link breathed in, and looked up. 

Confirmation was... a heady feeling.

“How?” He asked.

“I do not yet know.” Maz Koshia stated. “I am hoping to use this loop to learn.” He turned, gesturing to the large machine that dominated the corner of the right side of the room. It was larger than the one that came before it, Link couldn’t help but note. “This scanner is an updated model of the previous. It includes new sensors that are specifically attuned to what I have observed of the magic’s structure. Additionally, it contains a meditative component that should assist you in keeping your strength. This should extend the time you will be able to push back the effects of the magic, and in turn allow the sensors more time to analyze it. If everything goes well, then in the next loop, I will have a detailed examination of its structure, and we will thus be able to figure out a way to break it.”

“We’re going to need your help for most of... today, actually.” Purah said. “That meditative component needs to be calibrated and tuned for you.”

“There’s also another deep scan to be done.” Robbie noted. “Everything we’ve got here now is built based on the data from last time. If we’re fortunate, nothing important will have changed, and it will all still be useful. If not, however, we’ll either have to recalibrate, or we’ll have to take it into account for the next loop.”

Link nodded. “Does it work the same as last time?” Link asked Maz Koshia.

The monk nodded.

“Alright.” Link turned to Zelda. “I should lose an hour or so.” He said. “It’s safe, but you might want to spend that time catching up with everyone.”

She smiles at him. “That-” She glances at Purah from the side of her eye. “- would be hard not to do.”

Link quirks a smile. He reaches to his back, unclipping the Master Sword, and settling it on the table. 

Maz Koshia stands, and Link follows after him. The machine activates, and Link disintegrates into blue light as he steps onto it.


	23. Chapter 23

A timeless moment, and then he’s back. 

Zelda, Fi, Maz Koshia, Purah, and Robbie are at the table. Neither Jerrin or Symin are present. Two closed doors tell him where they went.

The question is whether they’d chosen to go off or whether they’d been sent off. 

On one hand, it _is_ after midnight. Sane people with regular schedules were usually asleep by then.

On the other hand, they’re Sheikah scientists who have just met the fabled Princess of Hyrule who contained Calamity Ganon for a hundred years.

Sent off, then.

Link shakes his head and focuses on the conversation.

“- TRIP is a better acronym than TLIP.” Zelda is saying to Robbie. “And ‘Temporal Recursion’ sounds much better than ‘Time Loop’.”

“Neeerd Squaaad!” Purah calls.

Robbie directs a glare her way, but smiles at Zelda. “Temporal Recursion Investigation and Prevention committee.”

“Oh, come on!” Purah spins. “Mazzy, you agree with me, right?”

Maz Koshia elects not to look up from his Sheikah Slate. Purah pouts, exaggeratedly.

“You’re a hundred and twenty six years old.” Robbie flicks his hand. “Accept it!”

“I can be whatever age I want!” Purah denies. “‘Nerd Squad’ rolls off the tongue, and it’s even more true, because after this is over, we’re still going to be nerds, but we won’t be the TRIP thing anymore!”

“This is not inaccurate.” Fi responds.

Robbie groans.

Zelda laughs, but he can see her eyes beginning to flutter. She catches herself with a jolt, looking around to see who noticed. Neither Purah or Robbie did, since both are busy glaring at each other, but then Zelda’s eyes find him.

“Beginning to feel how tired you are?” He asks. He already knows the answer, of course.

“I am feeling it, yes.” Zelda yawns. “And I dearly want to try these beds that... _I_ wrote about. Are they really so effective?”

“They are pretty good.” Link smiles. He turns to Maz Koshia. “Anything important?”

“Some.” Maz Koshia stated. “You have new magical signatures inside of you. Divine blessings, though they appear dormant.”

“Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal.” Zelda covered her mouth, briefly. “Will they be a problem?”

Oh. Right. If nothing important had changed, Maz Koshia had said. And he’d gone and gotten himself three blessings from Divine Spirits. And then hadn’t told them.

“The Attendants of the Springs... I see.” Maz Koshia hummed. “I do not believe so.”

Relieving. It would have been a shame to have accidentally wasted a loop.

Well.

Accidentally wasted the last _part_ of the loop.

“With that said, however... They appear to have assimilated with his soul. There is a possibility that, like his magic, they shall return to the past with him.”

“Really?” Link asked.

“I believe so.” Maz Koshia nodded. “Actual confirmation, of course, will have to wait until the next loop.”

“If they’ve assimilated with his soul, wouldn’t they have an effect on the magic that sends him back?” Robbie asked.

“Likely. However, I cannot be sure of what, if any, consequences will occur. In any case, they are currently dormant, and so should not affect our current plans.”

“Sounds like you had quite an adventure.” Purah chimes.

“I always do.” Link replied. “Though this time was a bit more... _more_ , than most of the others.” With the exception of the last one. The Fierce Deity Mask is definitely the _most_ , in this context.

And, _damn_ , Link had managed to stop thinking about that. Now he has to ignore it again.

Zelda yawns, again. “Fine!” She snaps, looking down at herself as if her body was personally offending her. “The sooner I get to sleep, the sooner I can get back up.”

Purah giggles. “Oh, Princess, I _know_ that feeling. And I was six for a few weeks, there! Children can sleep almost half a day away, it was awful.”

Zelda breathes in, then out. “Statements like that make me want to ask you questions.” She says. “And come the morning, _I will_. Don’t think you can get out of this. I’m fully aware that you’ve basically invented eternal youth, and we _will_ be having a discussion on the _mountain_ of philosophical questions and moral implications you dropped on me through it. ”

“Oh, it’s not _eternal_ youth...” Purah looks up. “You can still die from old age, but you do get an extended lifespan and you’re physically young and capable the entire time, so-”

Zelda covers her mouth with a hand. Purah blinks at her.

“ _When I wake up_.” Zelda says, slowly, before removing her hand.

“When you wake up.” Purah echoes.

Zelda nods, then stands up. She looks to her quarters for a moment, but turns to give Link a hug before she goes there. “I want you to know that I appreciate... _everything_ , Link.”

Link smiles, and hugs her back. “Wait until morning.” He says. “And then you can tell me that.”

Her head tilts, but she very clearly makes the decision not to think about it, so she just nods and pulls away. 

He watches her go, until the door closes behind her.

“You two had such a rocky start.” Purah says. Her voice is quiet, serious, and when Link turns around, her face is set in a sincere calm expression. “But the more time passed, the more I was convinced of something. You were the best thing that ever happened to her, Link.”

Link sighs, reached up to scratch his neck. “We all made mistakes.”

“Not like that. Not you.” Robbie stepped up beside Purah. “Not her, either. Both of you had so much weight and responsibility on your shoulders, and you were both just children. You did _everything_ that could have been asked of you. You even gave your life to protect her.”

“She’s Zelda.” He says. “How couldn’t I?”

“Other people would say ‘She’s the Princess’.” Purah smiles. Soft. “Once the two of you started getting along? She was happier than she had ever been. She had a smile like the sun. I’d never seen that before, you know?”

Link is reminded, for a moment, of the Deku Tree’s words.

“She’s good for you, too.” Robbie noted. “I didn’t really notice, at first, but you’re more relaxed now that she’s with us. When you came by the Akalla Tech Lab, you were always tense.”

Link shrugs. Link usually doesn’t have much cause to be relaxed. It paid to be always a little on guard, out in the wilds. With Zelda, though...

“Good to see you two together, again.” Purah murmured. “It must hurt a lot, to have only a few days, and then go back.”

“Eventually-” Link says. “I’ll stop being forced to.” He shakes his head. “Either way, I should be following my own advice. Big day ahead.”

“Heh.” Purah smiles. “Good night, Linky~”

Link goes to his own quarters. The bed seems the same as last time. It’s a bit earlier than it had been compared to last time, but not by much. One thirty, compared to two. The product of not having spent so much time just soaking, of not getting explanations from Maz Koshia, of being already knowing what to do. Next time, he probably won’t be so distracted by the Sheikah Scientists changing age, and he’ll get to bed earlier.

Six thirty, Link decides, will be his alarm. Zelda would have hers set earlier, too. No doubt she’d left herself notes about he had Energizing Elixirs, about the efficiency of the beds when it came to getting rest. With Purah and Robbie (and Symin and Jerrin) available for questioning, she’d risk a lower amount of sleep. And, of course, there was the fact that they probably wouldn’t be doing too much in the way of physically strenuous work. More incentive.

She’d be awake at seven thirty at the latest.

Link’s head hits the pillow, and then he’s waking up to the alarm. It’s remarkable, and he wishes he could fall asleep with even a tenth as much ease outside of it.

Still, he’s feeling pretty good.

Link gets up, opening the door to check outside. Symin and Jerrin are up, and both give him a wave. Fi is speaking with them, and Maz Koshia is tapping at the Sheikah Slate. The Monk seems deep in thought.

Link pops back inside, but leaves the door open. 

The kitchen is nearly exactly the same as last time, except there’s even more stoves, pots, pans, and _options_.

Link had spent nearly a week searching for Koroks. In that time, he’d picked up a truly ridiculous amount of cooking materials.

A problem to which he now had a solution. 

Link flicks the stoves on, one by one, and gets cooking.

Purah pokes her head in about half an hour later. She looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Out of curiosity, how _have_ you been feeding yourselves?” He asks.

“Some of the Guardian Scouts went out hunting and gathering.” She says, eyeing the array of utensils in use. “We cook whatever they bring back, and then put the rest in storage.”

The scouts can do that?

Link will have to remember _that_ for next time. 

“You can have some when Zelda is awake.” He says, noting that she’s still looking at the food.

“It smells delicious.” She smiles widely at him. “A lot better than what we have. And, Link, has anybody ever told you that you’re a beautiful and good person?”

“About two thirds of Hyrule, so flattery won’t get you anywhere.” He says, blankly. “Especially since you just said you have leftovers.”

She tsks. “I’ll wait.”

He nods.

Zelda walks in front of his door half an hour in front of that. She stops in front of his door, inhales deeply, then turns. 

She looks at the food, and then at him. Realization flashes through her eyes, and then she smiles. “I want you to know that I appreciate _everything_ , Link.”

Link flicks the last stove off. 

Perfectly timed.

“I’m seventy five years old, and I can’t cook like this.” Jerrin murmurs, halfway through her dish. “How did you learn?”

“Feeding his own appetite.” Zelda says, amused. “He’s a glutton, and he can eat everything. To this day, I still don’t know he does it.”

“I’m not that bad.” He says. 

“I have seen you eat literal gemstones. Daruk used to feed you Rock Roasts.” Zelda says. “You _are_ that bad.”

Breakfast is a short, efficient affair. More Sheikah don’t change that.

“Alright, here’s the deal.” Purah says. “At the moment, we don’t really have a whole lot to do about the time loop specifically. We’re still in the gathering information stage of things, so, for the most part, we’ve decided to try and maximise the amount of information we can gather.”

She gestures over her shoulder to the large machine. “Unfortunately, we don’t understand a whole lot about the magic yet, so we can’t really try to affect that side of things. What we can do, however, is affect _your_ side of things. That machine back there is hooked up with a meditation module. There’s a lot of long, several syllable scientific jargon to explain it, but the short version is basically that it sustains your body and energizes your spirit, basically just letting you sit there and think for long periods of time. We’re hoping that this will allow you to delay the magic for longer, so we can get more data on it.”

“The problem is, these are not generalized technologies.” Robbie continued from there. “They need to be specifically set up for each individual user. Since it is your first time, this will take several hours at a minimum. Probably more than eight hours, actually.”

Link nods. 

“This will mostly be a matter of waiting, on your part.” Maz Koshia stated. “Considering the delicacy of these devices, I shall be the only one to work on it.”

“Zelda is free to question everybody on everything, then?” Link asked, and Maz Koshia nodded.

“That eager to get rid of me?” Zelda says, putting a smile on her face to show she’s joking. 

“It’s a thought that comes from one observation.” Link shakes his head, before turning to the other Sheikah. “You’re all pale. When’s the last time you actually went outside?”

Purah smiles, raises her hand, opens her mouth, and then pauses.

Zelda, slowly, turns to face them. Robbie looks away. Symin and Jerrin suddenly look very busy.

“Uh...” Purah licks her lips. Her eyes dart from side to side, searching, but there is no good answer here. “Not long ago.”

“None of them have left since you brought them here.” Maz Koshia immediately rats them out. “I had to alter the lighting so they’d get the necessary ultraviolet ray exposure.”

“And I didn’t even think about that.” Zelda’s lips purse. “Thank you, Link. You truly are a valuable member of this committee.” She clears her throat, and then, in her best stern royal voice, continues. “We’re all going on a field trip.”

Her tone leaves no room for discussion on the matter. Purah slumps. Robbie looks embarrassed. Symin and Jerrin seem properly chastised. All do as they’re told, and they swipe food and other items into their Slates before following Zelda to the elevator, looking so much like a pack of ducklings.

“Efficient.” Fi compliments.

“Learned that trick from Impa.” He responds, before turning to Maz Koshia. “Is this going to become a regular thing?”

“After the first time, all future version should be able to be constructed already calibrated for you.” Maz Koshia stated. 

“Alright.” Link nods. “Let’s get started, then.”


	24. Chapter 24

To properly calibrate the Meditative Assistant Devices (Which is the actual name of the meditation modules, according to Maz Koshia), Link needs to actually use them.

Maz Koshia directs Link to take a seated position. Whatever Link chooses, he’s going to be seated like that for several hours, and while the Meditative Assistant Devices will stop his muscles from getting sore while he’s using them, they _won’t_ help while they’re being calibrated.

It’s further complicated by the fact that he also needs to hold the Master Sword, but Link makes do. He eventually ends up just sitting with crossed legs, leaning forwards to hold the Master Sword.

Uncomfortable? Slightly. Bearable? Definitely. Link had been through much worse while he was in the Guard, where tradition and ceremony had required him to sit in positions that left his legs protesting at length after the several hours he’d been there. He’d handled that without Ancient Sheikah Technology, he could definitely do this.

The physical side of things is done fairly quickly. Maz Koshia sets that up, and Link notices the effects when his legs _don’t_ start complaining after half an hour of staying like that.

The other side takes longer.

Maz Koshia gives a long explanation, but Link, honestly, doesn’t understand too much of it. He gets the gist, but Purah’s already told him that. 

Meditation is not exactly something Link does. He understands the concept, of course, but... sitting still? Doing nothing? 

Difficult.

Link can focus just fine when he has something to do. When he’s cooking, hours can pass in moments. On the battlefield, Link barely even needs to _think_. Everything is comprehension, movement, and action. He’s always been utterly aware of everything, when he’s like that. 

That’s good, according to Maz Koshia. That’s exactly the state of mind he needs to be in.

To call that state up at will is... not easy.

But Link does it.

The devices sync up with him, then. They’re... weird.

It’s the first time that Link has ever actually _felt_ Ancient energies. It’s a sensation so weird that it instantly knocks him out of his meditation.

Ancient energy is... almost indescribable, honestly. It doesn’t feel hot. It doesn’t feel cold. It doesn’t feel like any temperature. It doesn’t have any weight to it, but it’s not weightless, either. It doesn’t feel like magic, nor Malice, nor the power of Twilight. It doesn’t have that feeling of Divinity. It doesn’t have anything to it. It just _is_.

“It is everything we need it to be.” Maz Koshia states. “And nothing else. You do not need it to be anything, and so it is nothing but itself.”

Sheikah.

Link gets better at getting into the mindset he needs as more time passes. He is very frequently knocked out of it, when the devices sync up to him and he starts feeling that Ancient power suffuse him. The sensation is just that startling. Once he gets used to it, though, it goes right back to being difficult when the energies start changing on him. What was previously devoid of any describable properties becomes something he can safely label as ‘warm’ and ‘healthy’, and just like that, focus broken.

“Did the past Hero know much about things like this?” Link asked.

“He worked primarily with equipment.” Maz Koshia stated. “And he was a capable engineer in such matters. He did not learn Sheikah Arts, however, which this is closer to.”

Link nods.

It ends up taking nine hours before it’s all working properly. Maz Koshia has him spend more time maintaining his focus. It’s... something.

He’s aware of his surroundings. Very aware. Sounds that he’d been hearing but put out of mind stick out. The light feels subtly different. One of the cables isn’t actually plugged into anything.

Maz Koshia tells him that this will likely be easier when it’s actually meant to be used. He’ll have something to focus on, then, rather than just needing to focus in general. Link is okay with that.

Zelda and the others come back down ten or eleven hours after they went up. The sound of the elevator manages to break his concentration again, and Link shifts.

He’s not sore. He’s not stiff. But he hasn’t moved in a while, and there’s a mental disconnect, there, since he usually _would_ be feeling sore and stiff.

Nonetheless, the others are here.

“I don’t see what’s so great about that stupid flaming death orb.” Purah groans. She reaches out and pats a wall affectionately. “I’m home, honey.”

Link glances at Maz Koshia, raising an eyebrow. The Monk nods.

Link shakes his head. Ridiculous.

Zelda is yawning, again, as she moves forwards. Not quite at the point of falling asleep just yet, but she’s getting there. Another two or three hours.

“Have fun?” He asked.

“Lots!” Zelda smiles. “Though it did feel weird to go out and not have you nearby. I had... honestly forgotten what that was like. I can’t say that I liked it all that much.”

“I’ll endeavour to stick around.” He says.

She laughs. “How about you?” 

“I’m not ungrateful.” Link gives a hmm. “But I think you’d have enjoyed it more.”

She doesn’t seem surprised by that. “It is all ready, though?” She asked, turning to Maz Koshia.

The Monk nodded again. “There is nothing to do other than wait, at this point.”

“Which means we can nerd out to our hearts’ content!” Purah cheered. “You should see some of the stuff we came up with when we were testing out the remodelled Ancient Oven, Linky!”

Link glances back at the much larger form of Cherry. “I _had_ been wondering about that.” He says.

“Don’t let Purah get your hopes up.” Robbie sighs. “Most of it is just upgraded forms of the equipment we’d already come up with. Equipment which I suspect you’re already familiar with.”

“Sword, spear, shield, bow, and axe?” He says, mostly for confirmation.

Robbie nods. “Were they effective?” He asks.

“They’re good.” Link agrees. “More durable than most Guardian weapons I pick up, too. I used to go through a lot of those.”

“‘Used to’?” Robbie asked. “Ah. The Master Sword must outshine most other weapons.”

She did, yes. But...

He swipes at his Slate for a moment, summoning a Guardian Sword. It’s one of the stronger variants. He flicks the weapon on, and the blade materializes with a hum. Link shifts it, showing it to Symin, before sending a pulse of magic into it.

The blade bleeds white. Purah, Robbie, and Jerrin all make interested noises.

“You are infusing it with magic.” Maz Koshia noted. 

“Cool.” Purah twisted her head, looking at it from different angles. “What’s it do?”

“Makes it better.” Link said. He spun the hilt in his fingers, before flicking it into the air. Maz Koshia caught it, turning it over. “I can do that with pretty much everything I have.” He continues. “It helps a lot. I would break so many weapons and shields before I learned how to do that.”

The blade was beginning to turn back to blue. It was a slow process. 

Maz Koshiaheld a hand out, and something long and thin materialized in his hands. He began poking at the hilt, examining it. “You have put this through considerable use.” He notes.

Link nods. “It would have broken a long time ago if I didn’t infuse it.”

“Most equipment would not be able to handle a Hero’s strength.” Maz Koshia said. “And you are definitely among the more physically powerful of them.” He flicks the blade off, turning it around in his hand. “Would you like to learn how to repair these weapons?”

Link raises an eyebrow. Zelda straightens up, intrigued by the prospect of playing with Ancient Technology.

“I would.” He says. Ancient equipment is among the best equipment he can access, after all. “I am still in a loop, though.”

“Of that, you need not be concerned.” Maz Koshia states, tossing the Guardian Sword back to Link. “The tools required to repair these items are simple and ubiquitous. Several sets went into stasis when I did, and even the meagre fabrication capacity of this facility would be able to replace them to no real loss.”

“It’s probably something you should learn anyway.” Purah chimes in. “Those tools Mazzy’s talking about? They’re good on a lot of Ancient tech. And a lot of non-Ancient tech.” She leans over to Zelda, stage-whispering. “Something to have fun with, right?”

Zelda grins back.

“Then I would like to learn.” Link nods. “Please.”

“This way, then.” Maz Koshia starts walking towards the tables. “I shall educate the both of you.”

And Maz Koshia does. 

The tools he was talking about end up to be a few items. One was the long, thin stick he’d used just before. It’s meant for analysis, according to Maz Koshia. Maz Koshia can use it by himself, but the two of them need their Sheikah Slates, instead. He walks them through the process of syncing them with their Sheikah Slates, and then demonstrates how to work them, using Link’s Guardian Sword as an example.

The Sheikah Slates show a highly detailed representation of the Guardian Sword. Maz Koshia shows them some controls, and then flicks through different models and views of the same Guardian Sword. He flicks to one which shows a mostly transparent version, and then has it zoom in, revealing to them a series of cracks, bends, and fractures in the Guardian Sword that were invisible to the naked eye.

It’s very clear to him that Zelda has questions she wants to ask, but she waits for the moment.

The second item is a handle, not all that dissimilar to the Guardian Sword. It’s a multitool, differing in that it has multiple different shapes in which it can project energy. It is, furthermore, a tool of precision rather than power; it’s sharp, but the energy projection has to be handled carefully, or it was deform. It’s not a weapon, and it can’t just be waved around freely. Again, Maz Koshia can use it freely, but the two of them need the Sheikah Slates to control what shape it projects.

The third item is larger. It’s actually larger than their Sheikah Slates, in fact, and bears an approximately similar shape, a grip on one side and a short body. It doesn’t have a screen like the Sheikah Slates, and the side opposite to the handle glows with compacted projectors. This is a manipulator, Maz Koshia explains. More useful to him than them, as it seemed all the tools were, but with it, they’d be able to use it to repair any technology the Sheikah Slate could recognize. Link would have to keep it supplied with at least a minimum of materials in order to replace lost parts, but so long as he could do that, he’d be able to keep his weapons in good shape.

That sets Zelda off, and she shortly begins to start questioning what, precisely, the limits of it was. Purah intervenes then, and drags her over to Robbie, Jerin, and Symin, all of whom are familiar with it by now and none of whom are busy, Leaving Link with Maz Koshia to continue with repairing the Guardian Sword.

With knowledge of the tools now given, Maz Koshia moves onto the subject of the Guardian Sword itself. He produces a copy, and then starts walking Link through it.

“Press here.” Maz Koshia indicates, multitool in the shape of a needle. There’s a small groove on the side of the Guardian Sword, and as Link does so, he hears a clicking noise.

Maz Koshia pulls the multitool back, and then gently pulls the casing of the Guardian Sword back. Underneath is glowing ancient technology, lines and mechanisms tightly packed underneath. Link follows after him, gently pulling his own Guardian Sword apart

“There are several steps, but the tricky part is this.” Maz Koshia takes the analyzer, running it over the lines, briefly. Nothing shows up on his Slate, but on Link’s, a purple mark appears. “This is a crystalline residue produced when the blade of an energy projection is used with too much force. It is not dangerous in its own right, and unnoticeable considering your strength and the speed at which you break weapons, but if it is allowed to build up enough, it will interfere with the energy output of your weapon.”

“So it needs to be cleaned.” Link said.

Maz Koshia nods. He directs links to change the multitool into something long, but with a sharp end. “All you need to do is scrape it off.”

Link gets to it. He sets his Sheikah Slate in front of him, leaves the analyser to point at the Guardian Blade, zooms in until he can see what he’s doing, and then starts scraping.

Slow. Smooth. Careful. 

One stroke takes most of the residue off in a single go. The next is finer, carefully separating it from the lines and mechanisms. More, then more, and the purple displayed on his Slate slowly vanishes.

It takes maybe fifteen minutes to get it all. Link’s hand is steady, and he’s focused. 

The next step is simple. Link presses his Slate, cycling through analysis modes. Power flow, good. Containment units, good. Projector array, good. Energy state configured to maximum output. Structural stability... compromised. 

But there was nothing to interfere with repair efforts anymore. Link takes the manipulator and points it at the Guardian Sword. He taps the Sheikah Slate again, and the analysis mode shifts, cracks and stressors lighting up red. It’s recognized technology, and that makes it easy. Link activates the manipulator, projecting beams of light into the Guardian Sword. It shimmers, partially disintegrating before reintegrating properly, realigned and repaired. Link runs the manipulator up the length of the Guardian Sword, making sure to repair all of it. There was only a minor amount missing, and so there was only minor drain on the manipulator.

It takes five more minutes, but he’s done with the delicate part. The outer casing is all that’s left, so Link points the analyzer at that, too. Minor structural integrity loss. Easily fixed.

Link sets the manipulator down and reassembles the Guardian Sword. With a flick, the blade projects. Perfect colour. Perfect hum.

Link nods, satisfied.

“You did an excellent job.” Maz Koshia states.

“Thank you.” Link says.

“Especially since I didn’t explain anything past the first step.”

Link pauses.

Then he thinks back.

Maz Koshia had _not_ explained anything else. 

Link looks at the manipulator. Maz Koshia had not explained how to use it.

Link looks at his Slate. Maz Koshia hadn’t explained anything about the other analysis modes.

Link breathes in, turns the blade off, and sets it down.

He swallows.

“Are you alright, Link?” Zelda asks. Link turns, and finds both her and the other Sheikah staring at him from the other table. When, exactly, had he stopped paying attention to them?

“It never used to be like this.” He says. He’d always known how to wield swords and bows and shields and all other kinds of weaponry, yes. But he’d never had... _this_. Link closes his eyes, beginning to massage his temples. “When I first found the Sheikah Slate, I didn’t just _know_ how to use it.”

There’s a concerned noise, followed by the sound of steps. Zelda’s hand grips his shoulder, and she takes a seat next to him. Without even seeing her, he knows she’s concerned.

“The other pieces of Ancient Technology that were unearthed.” He continued. “I didn’t know much about them. When did it change? Why is it only in these loops that my past selves’ memories are starting to show up?”

“We’ll have to figure it out.” Zelda says, gently. 

Link reaches up, placing his hand on top of hers. She’s warm, as always. 

“Do you dislike it?” Maz Koshia asks, after a moment.

Did he dislike it? These memories, so uncommon. Flashes of thought and emotion. They’d given him a fear of a simple phrase, utter dread tied to something so innocuous. They’d given him a hatred of a name, surpassed only by Calamity itself. They’d given him the thought of a wolf, when he’d been told about how one of them had been cursed.

“No.” He answers. “They gave me Fi’s name.” 

Fi herself pauses, going silent and still. Emotion, she’s getting better at, but she doesn’t know how to respond to _that_.

“It’s mostly just the surprise that annoys me.” He pulls Zelda’s hand down, still holding it. His thumb traces circles on her palm. “That one was... subtle. Until it was pointed out to me.”

They’d given him the memories of cleaning a weapon, something that was so practiced it must have occurred _terribly_ often.

And there were all sorts of implications with that, but Link suddenly found himself lacking the energy to explore it.

“I think I’m just going to take a break for the rest of the night.” He says, letting go of Zelda’s hand. “A long bath and eight full hours of sleep sounds pretty nice right now.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Zelda smiles. “Go on. You definitely deserve it.”

One day, passed.

Two more to go.


	25. Chapter 25

The second day started the same as the first. Link woke up at six thirty, having actually slept a whole eight hours and _fifteen minutes_. It was positively sinful.

He checks outside. Fi, Maz Koshia, Symin, and Jerrin. The latter two tell him that Purah and Robbie usually wake up half an hour later. Thus far, it’s a schedule they’ve stuck to.

Link isn’t sure when Zelda went to bed. It was entirely possible that she’d gone to sleep before he’d gotten out of his bath. It’s equally possible that she’d out-stubborned her body and gone to sleep afterwards. He could ask. Fi and Maz Koshia could both answer, but... Well, spontaneity isn’t always bad, he’s learned by now.

Link doubted it would take too much more than an hour, either way.

Lacking anything else to do, Link goes back to cooking. Yesterday, Link had made a dent in his food supplies. Today, Link is going to try and get rid of most of it.

Purah drops by half an hour later, on the dot. She looks at him with large, soulful, begging eyes, and Link scoffs at her. “Seven thirty.”

Purah tsks, just like last time, and stalks away. 

Zelda drops by, ten minutes after that. She looks at him with large, soulful, grateful eyes. Link loads her up with food for everyone.

“ _Seven thirty_.” Purah sniffs in a passable imitation of his own voice.

“You’re free to wait.” Link says, and there are no more smarmy comments from Purah.

Breakfast is quiet and quick. 

Link goes back to cooking, afterwards. The simplicity of it, working and preparing the ingredients, is a balm to his soul. Zelda talks with the others, and her constant, excited chattering is just as good as her own direct presence. Link is listening to the sounds more than the words.

Which is why he’s definitely startled when Purah suddenly shouts. “HE CAN WHAT?!”

Link’s head snaps back to his partially open door. In the quiet that follows, he can just make out Zelda’s quiet “Oh.” before the sound of scraping seats and boots on stone meet his ears.

“Purah no!” Zelda shouts, but it’s too late.

Purah slams his door open hard enough that it bounces back. She wastes absolutely no time in charging forwards, reaching out and grabbing the collar of his new clothes, yanking him around. All of a sudden, she’s in his face.

“What’s this about you being able to turn into a _dragon_ , Linky?” She asks, intently.

‘ _Oh._ ’ Link thinks. ‘ _Oh no._ ’

“I’m sorry!” Zelda calls from the door. To her credit, she does appear contrite.

But she also just unleashed the full force of Purah’s enthusiasm on him, and the magnitude of such a betrayal cannot be understated.

In what cannot possibly take more than a few minutes, most of them are on the surface. Link had been forced to put everything he’d been cooking into his Sheikah Slate, unfinished. Symin and Jerrin take a seat under a tree, in the shade and outside the glare of the sun, both still not quite prepared to deal with Zelda’s exalted status. Maz Koshia has elected to stay inside and meditate. Purah and Robbie wait, the former much more eager than the latter.

And then, right on the cliff in front of the Shrine of Resurrection, Link turns into a dragon.

Purah is enthused. Purah runs around like a six year old girl on a sugar high.

“You do look pretty.” Zelda offers, the expression on her face half a smile and half grimace.

He gives her a _look_. Purah cackles as she hangs off of a wing.

She swallows, nodding. Her eyes flick away. She winces, and Link can feel his heart melt. He leans forwards a bit, and presses the side of his face against her arm. That snaps her out of it, and she quickly brushes her hand against his fur, eyes wide with hope. It hurts to look at. Zelda shouldn’t be so... unhappy.

“I’m not angry.” He says. Her breath of relief is something else. He’s never been angry with Zelda. “And if I really didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t.” A huff of air, slightly amused. “Just make a note to break the news more tactfully next time, right?”

She smiles softly, nodding. One last brush of his fur, and then she straightens up. “Purah.” She says, and the woman’s eyes turn to her. “ _Respectfully_.” She insists. “This is still Link.”

Purah listens, thankfully.

Which means that she at leasts asks him before she starts climbing on him.

She spends at least an hour poking and prodding at him, getting him to move around and test things.

“Can you breath fire?” Purah asks.

Link breathes in, and then exhales a wave of rich red flames into the air. The heat is sudden and sharp, and he catches Purah shying away from it. 

“Awesome.” She cheers, regardless. 

“That was Dinraal’s blessing.” Zelda notes. “I saw it before, but... I didn’t think those flames would be the same colour. They’re definitely not normal.”

“In legend, Din’s Fire is occasionally described as a scarlet blaze.” Robbie hmmed. “A colour which matches your flames, but I’m not sure of the veracity of such a legend.”

“I can confirm that matter.” Fi chimed in. “The fire that Master Link is breathing is not Din’s Fire, but it is a lesser form of it.”

“He’s breathing _divine fire_?” Purah cackled. “Even more awesome! What else can you do?”

Link raises a brow. He reaches for Naydra’s blessing, though he doesn’t call for its full power.

The temperature drops, but only by a little bit. Not enough to be uncomfortable, even if they hadn’t been wearing their Ancient enhanced Sheikah clothes, but enough that it’s noticeable.

“Freezing things?” Purah asks. He nods, and then spies a leaf on the ground. Claws do not make it easy to pick up, but Link makes do, pinching the stem between two of his claws. A stronger and more focused call of Naydra’s blessing, and the Sheikah watch as it snap-freezes, cracking and bending slightly.

He holds it out, and Purah takes it. She gives it a flick, and the leaf snaps in half.

“That would be Naydra’s.” She says. “What’s Farosh’s like?”

“Well...” Link pauses, then looks around. Nothing close, because it would be quite loud. Something visible from here, too. “You see Whistling Hill?” He asks, raising a claw and pointing.

“Yes?” Purah asks.

“There’s a Lizalfos on it at the moment.” He says. Small thing. Crouched among the grass, camouflaged with it. 

Link feels for Farosh’s blessing. There’s a cloud above, but there’s not too much energy in it. It’s also mostly neutral. Link feeds his magic into Farosh’s blessing, and begins to change that.

“Do you know that from experience, or is your eyesight that good?” Purah asks. 

“My eyesight.” He answers. The Lizalfos twitches, shifting as it stands up, looking around. None of the others can see it, at this distance. “Anyway, watch this.”

Lizalfos are pretty sensitive to their environments. That’s why this one knew there was something wrong. Unfortunately for this particular one, they’re not _that_ sensitive, and they’re not smart enough to run away rather than look for the source.

The cloud is good and charged, filled with more negative than positive. Link can feel the ground beginning to respond, the fields starting to shift, and he gives them a bit of a nudge. The Lizalfos, he focuses a bit of positive on.

Nature, faced with an imbalance and presented with the means to correct it, does so immediately. The lightning bolt strikes. The Lizalfos... _isn’t_.

Several seconds pass in silence, before the rumbling thunder meets their ears. 

“Urbosa would have been _thrilled_.” Zelda says.

Purah begins to laugh, a maniacal grin on her face. “That is the _best thing_.”

Link shifts, rolling his body and stretching. 

“How’s your flying?” Purah asks.

“I can fly.” He answers. “And I think I’m pretty decent at it.”

“Ever flown with anybody else?” She asks, casually. _Too_ casually.

The tone of voice combined with the question tells him _exactly_ what she’s about to angle for. 

But, he plays along, pretending not to notice. “Purah.” He says, slowly. “The only people who know about this _this_ -” He gestures to himself. “- are all on this plateau.”

“I see.” Purah looks away. Link uses the opportunity to catch Zelda’s eye, and she raises a brow. He nods, subtly, so that Purah doesn’t catch the gesture. “Well, maybe you should try! You’ll never know when you might need to do something like that!”

Link has a Sheikah Slate, and is more than capable of carrying people in his Hylian form. He makes a show of considering it, anyway. Behind Purah, Zelda’s lips twitch, but she hides it. “It sounds unlikely.” He says. “But it’s not like I’m doing anything else, anyway. Why not learn?”

“ _Excellent_.” Purah can’t hide her enthusiasm. “Well then, I will happily volunteer-”

“Want to go flying, Zelda?” He asks, looking over her.

“What?” Purah asks, startled.

“Absolutely I do.” Zelda grins.

“Hey!” Purah’s jaw drops.

“Well then-” Link begins to move.

“Wait, wait wait wait!” Purah throws her hands up. Her eyes flick side to side, quickly, as she searches for an argument. She’s not giving up. “Safety issues!” She shouts, latching onto the first subject that comes to her mind. “Just going up could be dangerous! What if you slip and fall?”

Zelda _does_ pause, at that.

“Obviously, it will be less dangerous to have me-”

“I’ve got a solution.” Link says, interrupting her. He transforms back, and then grabs his Paraglider. “You know how to use this, right?”

Zelda takes it, eyeing it curiously. “I’ve seen you use it a lot.” She answers. She grabs, hands in the right positions, Link notes, and then opens it above her head. She stares at it, then folds it, and opens it up again, nodding to herself.

“Grip strength!” Purah declares, desperately. “No need to risk her life, I’m here after all-”

“Easy to test.” Link interrupts again. He twirls his finger, calling upon Revali’s Gale, and summoning a column of wind to his side. It’s a much smaller one than usual, but it will lift Zelda just fine. 

Zelda smiles, and then steps into it. The Paraglider catches, and Zelda lets out a bit of a grunt as she’s yanked into the air.

But she doesn’t let go of the Paraglider. She’s lifted four meters into the air before the wind stops overpowering gravity. After a few seconds, she shifts, gliding slightly to the left, before she angles her hands, shifting the glider and moving forwards. With a bit more testing, she’s able to go in a full circle, before gliding herself back to the center.

“Think you can handle that?” He calls, a bit louder. Zelda tries to twist, and is eventually able to turn. 

“Yes!” She answers. 

Link smirks, and then transforms. The pillar of wind cancels out, and Zelda starts to drift down, but he’s already underneath her.

She lands on his back, a bit ungracefully, but quickly shifts until she finds a comfortable position. Her arms wrap around his neck, which Link barely feels, and he tests his wings, finding that she isn’t really interfering with anything.

“Hold on tight.” He says.

“No!” Purah shouts, but it’s too late. Zelda smirks at her, and then Link _leaps_.

They go right over the edge of the cliff, and he can’t help but laugh as Zelda yelps, her grip suddenly tightening a lot more. He can still barely feel it, so he spreads his wings and lets the magic flow. 

He catches the air, and beats his wings slowly, ascending on an easy, shallow angle. He keeps to a straight line for the moment.

“Alright back there?” He asks.

Zelda begins to laugh, though it’s tinged with a bit of manic energy. “Terrified!” She declares, loudly, over the roaring wind. “Go higher!”

Link chuckles, and then does as she commands. Revali’s Gale bursts to life underneath him, and he angles his body, riding the winds into an upwards spiral. He can feel Zelda trembling, but she’s still laughing, he doesn’t doubt for a moment that there’s a huge smile on her face. 

He levels out facing towards Mount Hylia, so that’s where he goes. “Take a good look down.” He says. “The plateau looks nice from up here.”

He feels Zelda shift, and then she’s suddenly gripping him even tighter, even her heels pressed against him. “Why did I look down?!” She asks, a hint of panic in her voice. “That was an awful idea!”

“You’ve got a Paraglider.” Link laughs, deeply. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine!”

Link passes over Mount Hylia, and looks around. Taobab Grassland is right underneath him, but he finds his eyes drifting towards Mount Faloraa, and the long, steady slope that leads into Lake Hylia. 

Aha.

Link turns, angling towards the mountain.

“What are you doing?” Zelda calls, over the wind, as he begins to tip downwards. Link doesn’t respond, just tucks his wings tighter and enters a fast, angled descent.

“Link?!” She shouts. Mount Faloraa passes just underneath them, mere meters away. Link keeps his aim. 

“We’ll hit the water!” Zelda yells, alarmed. 

Link laughs, again. 

“We’re falling!” She shouts. Link waits. “Link!” She sounds _desperate_.

Link waits until the _precise_ moment. Zelda screams.

His wings flare wide, snapping out. The wind catches, and they _just_ avoid crashing into the water. Link beats his wings, shooting across the water fast enough that his wake of air sends a rush of spraying mist behind him. He’s close enough to it that if he wanted to, he could just reach out and touch it. Zelda keeps screaming.

Link passes under Bridge of Hylia, and then finally pulls up, shedding some speed. Zelda’s scream finally peters out, now that she needs to breathe. Link, graciously, allows her that. 

He can hear Zelda suck in several deep breaths. It takes her several seconds to talk. “I think my heart is about to burst out of my chest.” She says.

“And I haven’t even got into the fancy spins, yet.” Link muses.

Zelda shakes, let out high-pitched giggles. She buries her face in his fur.

“Would you like to go back?” He asks, kindly.

“Please.” She begs. Her voice is slightly muffled. “You’re my favourite person, but my heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest.”

She's obviously not paying much attention, if she's repeating herself like that.

Link turns back to the plateau. He descends gently, landing on the hill that led to the Shrine of Resurrection. 

Purah looks _incredibly_ jealous.

Link bends down, and Zelda slides off of him. She collapses, leaning against him, as she does. Her legs may as well have been Chu-Chu jelly for how wobbly they were. Zelda giggles, snorts, and laughs, all utterly breathless. Link lays down, letting her use him a pillow, and then finally turns to see her.

She looks utterly exhilarated. There’s a wide grin on her face, her eyes are open, and her hair is utterly wild with how it’s been swept by the wind.

Link has seen her in the finest of dresses. He’s seen her prettied up by the best maids at the castle. He’s watched her eyes light up while she’s been tearing apart pieces of Ancient Technology with her bare hands.

She’s never been more beautiful than she is now.

“Have fun?” He asked, smiling.

Zelda lets herself flop backwards, head leaning against his torso. “ _Yes_.” She sucks in a breath. “ _Please_ tell me we can do that again.”

“We can do that again.”

Zelda breaks out into another fit of giggling. “Good.” She says. “Though if you’re going to do fancy spins, I’m going to need something else to hold onto.”

“I’m sure that you’ll be able to figure out a harness or something similar if you put your head to it.” He responded. Zelda giggled again.

He smiled at her, and then finally turned away. 

Purah stared at him, unblinking. She’d been burning a hole in him through her gaze alone. 

“It was an excellent suggestion.” He said, putting in careful effort to make a polite smile. On his current face, more difficult than it sounded. “I think I figured out everything I need to, so far.”

She lets out a keening wail. It’s music to his ears.

He’ll allow it later. Link is a kind, generous person, after all. But for the moment?

This is the perfect revenge for climbing all over him.


	26. Chapter 26

Zelda is ecstatic for the rest of the day. It takes her ten or so minutes to get her feet under her again, to process everything they did, to finally come down from the adrenaline high.

But when she does, she latches on to the idea he presented. A harness, or something similar.

Zelda recruits the Sheikah for that purpose almost immediately. She starts questioning them on fabrics, on materials, on things like strength to density ratios, material hardness, and tensile strengths. Ideas are tossed back and forth. A saddle is suggested, and then near-immediately tossed out, on account of two facts. First, Link is too flexible for one to really be useful. Second, Link isn’t an animal, and to be saddled like a horse would be disrespectful to him and everything he’s done.

What they eventually settle on isn’t too far from a climbing harness. They imagine a fairly simple set of straps, going around his shoulders and crossing over his chest and back. It will be unobtrusive and lightweight, so that it won’t bother Link while he’s flying or moving. 

It’s perfect.

“Aside from being something to hang onto, how is this meant to stop people from falling?” Link asks.

They go back to the drawing board. They add clips and buckles onto it. Then they add a companion piece; belts with wires and hooks that will let them stay attached and can be moved freely.

“Wait, no, that’s a terrible idea. That will put all the weight on the waist and stomach if you _do_ fall.” Robbie interrupts.

Back to the drawing board. The belt becomes its own kind of harness, something that wraps around the thighs in addition to the waist and stomach.

“Oh, but your spine wouldn’t appreciate that.” Jerrin notes.

Back to the drawing board. The harness becomes a full body harness, so that unfortunate falls won’t end up with unfortunately bent spines.

“Where, precisely, do you intend to attach this too?” Symin asks.

Back to the drawing board. Link’s original harness gets an additional set for his stomach.

“And how’s it meant to stay there?” Purah questions.

Back to the drawing board. Now it goes around his back legs, too.

“And now we’re back to interfering with flexibility.” Zelda frowns.

Back to the drawing board. All of them stare at it with annoyance at the simple concept’s non-cooperation.

“Also-” Link can’t help but add. “- that’s more complicated stuff for other people.”

There’s groans. 

The groans attract the attention of Maz Koshia. He gets up from his meditation, and the Monk takes one look at the drawing board, then shakes his head.

“You are still but novices in the ways of Sheikah technology.” Maz Koshia declares. 

“Help us, Senior Nerd.” Purah begs.

And help them he does. He tosses out everything except the initial harness, though none of the Junior Nerds seem bothered by this. Maz Koshia then starts adding things to it. He marks a flexible chestpiece, widens the straps, and then adds another piece for his back. He designs both so that he’ll still be able to take advantage of his flexibility, won’t get in the way of his wings, and are all lightweight.

“How does this actually help, though?” Link asks.

Maz Koshia only chuckles. “One thing at a time.”

Cherry (Ancient Oven version 3.04, according to Robbie) finally sees use, now. Maz Koshia taps at his Sheikah Slate for a few minutes, and then the Ancient Oven deposits the harness.

The harness is shortly fitted onto him. Link shifts and stretches, bending as much as he can, and it doesn’t get in the way at all. He can barely even feel its weight.

Maz Koshia seems satisfied with that. “Now for step two.”

Step two, it turns out, is to actually start putting Ancient Technology into it. It takes him several hours, with Maz Koshia working at a pace and focus that nobody else would be able to keep up with. His Sheikah Slate is filled with diagrams, schematics, and other information, and probably the only thing that keeps him from working even faster is that he spends the entire time explaining exactly what he’s doing.

Link actually understands a fair amount of it, too. Maz Koshia talks about matter storage, kinetic manipulation, and energy projection nodes, and Link sort of gets where he’s going with it.

When he’s done, he taps his Sheikah Slate against Cherry. It takes a few minutes, where the entire thing forms slowly from condensing blue lights, but the harness is completed. 

It fits slightly better than its prototype, actually.

Zelda climbs on his back once it’s fitted, and then touches it. With a wave of blue lights, more Ancient technology materializes around her arms and legs, and then she’s suddenly and securely held to him. She can move herself. She can change her position, shift her legs, and move her arms, but aside from that?

Link twists and turns, and Zelda barely moves at all. Even when Link hangs upside down from the ceiling, she just sticks to him. 

“Well, that looks like it works pretty well.” Zelda says. “Though all the blood is going to my head.”

“Your hair is sticking straight up, too.” He notes, mused. Though, ‘straight up’, in this case, is down towards the ground, it makes for an amusing sight nonetheless.

“Maybe I should cut this.” Zelda says, brushing her hair out of her face. “I’ve never really had short hair. It’s only been trimmed for neatness.”

“It’s your hair, Zelda.” Link says. She turns to him with a slightly confused look. “You can choose whatever you want to do with it.”

She blinks, then her eyes widen as she understands his meaning. She’s no longer bound by the expectations of the Princess that had once sat on her shoulders. There was nobody who could tell her what to do, now.

She licks her lips, considering it. “It would certainly be easier than tying it up when I’m working with machines.” She muses. 

“If you cut it and do not enjoy it, you can inform yourself in the next loop.” Fi states. 

Zelda blinks again, then smiles at her. “True. I’ll have to think about this...”

Link goes back to the ground, and Zelda hops off. How, precisely, the harness determines the difference between her wanting to move and gravity wanting to move her, he doesn’t know. What he does know is that once she gets a few meters away, the Ancient technology that had materialized on her arms and legs disintegrates, streaming back to Link’s harness.

Maz Koshia nods approvingly.

Purah stands, closely, with a look in her eyes that is near begging. Link transforms back into a Hylian, because it isn’t time just yet.

“Where did the harness go?” Zelda asks.

Link blinks, noticing its absence, and then turns back into a dragon. It’s still there, fitting him already.

“It appears that the spatial pocketing effect applies to both sides of the transformation.” Fi comments. 

Link still has no idea how that works, but it’s convenient, so he’s not going to complain.

“So.” He says. “Ready for a real flight, with fancy spins and everything?”

“No.” Zelda giggles. “Let’s go.”

Purah stares with _intense_ jealousy. Zelda can’t help but throw a grin her way, but the smug look on her face is wiped off the moment Link jumps off the cliff again.

Link keeps it simple, to start, making sure that the harness actually _will_ keep her with him. Zelda cheers, laughing.

Then he starts adding spins, flips, and flourishing twirls, and the exhilarated screaming starts again. 

The whole thing doesn’t last very long, in absolute terms. Fifteen, twenty minutes at most. A lot longer than it did before, yes, and it probably seemed longer to Zelda because of the adrenaline rush, but still not very long.

Zelda is shaking, again, when he lands. Her hair is wild once more, any semblance of tidiness undone by the rushing winds.

“Definitely a haircut.” She says, sliding down his side. Once again, her legs are Chu-Chu jelly. “I kept getting slapped in the face by my own hair.”

“How short are you thinking?” He asks, curling around her. Her breathing begins to steady, her heart beating a bit slower. Link briefly touches Naydra’s blessing, letting it pulse through his fur, and Zelda sighs as she flops back against his now suddenly cooler body. 

“I have _no idea_.” She murmurs, after a few seconds. “I liked my old braids.” She offers. “So long enough to keep those.”

Link hums. For his dragon form, that’s a deep, thrumming sound. “Take a while to think about it.” He advises. “You’re not in any rush.”

She makes a noise of agreement, then straightens up. Link obligingly pulls back, helping her up. Zelda only takes a few short steps on wobbly legs, before sitting down against a tree, in the shade. 

“I’ll think about it.” She says. She turns away, and her next words are said in much lower tones. “Do you think you’ve teased Purah enough?”

Link smiles. “I could go a bit longer.” He says. “But yes, that does seem enough. Purah.” He says, and the Sheikah is _immediately_ next to them. “You’re ready?”

“Yes!” She cheers.

She jumps on top of him, clambering up to him in moments. The Ancient Technology materializes around her arms and legs, and she almost shakes in anticipation.

“We’ll be back soon.” He tells Zelda.

And so they are. Purah, unlike Zelda, has no fear of heights, going fast, or daring moves whatsoever. She does nothing but cheer and cheer _loudly_ , no matter what Link actually does. Link flies upside down, he flies in tight spirals around the Bridge of Hylia, he goes straight up until the air starts feeling thin, he lets himself fall from that height in a long, straight dive, only to spread his wings and curve sideways right at the end. The only thing Purah voices is approval.

And dismay, eventually, when he brings the flight to an end some fifteen minutes later. 

She does get down, though. She doesn’t try to convince him to go for another. She’s remarkably more steady on her legs than Zelda was, that’s for sure.

But it _is_ beginning to get late. The sun is starting to set, and Link has had quite enough excitement for the day.

And he still had yet to get around to actually finishing the food he’d been cooking.

So, back inside they go.

Link, fortunately, is able to finish the food before there’s a knock at his door.

It’s Zelda. Her face is a bit red. “I don’t actually know how to cut my hair.” She says, embarrassed. “It was always either Impa or the maids who trimmed it.”

“And you came to me.” He notes.

“Jerrin is lovely.” She says. “But a bit too afraid of me. Symin is the same. Robbie and Purah are... a bit too enthusiastic.”

That’s one way of putting it, yes.

Link nods, and grabs his Sheikah Slate. “What have you been thinking?”

“Neck length.” She says. “But I also want to keep my braids. Is... that something I can do?”

“It is.” He says. “Take a seat.”

She does. Link pulls out several clips and ties, a comb, a brush, and some scissors, and then starts working on her hair. It is _silky_ smooth, and he gathers it carefully into several bundles, tying them off behind her head.

Zelda shivers. “You’re more gentle than any of them.” She says, slowly. Link chuckles.

He shifts a few strands, starting the braid. Over, over, over, weave, weave, weave... Link is nothing if not efficient, and he attaches a pair of clips to her hair once it’s done. Her old hairstyle, now in place. Though she used different clips, last time.

Link hums an old tune, and lets her hair out of the ties. It falls back, longer and shinier than ever. “When you say neck, do you mean upper or lower?” He asks.

Zelda considers it. “Lower.” She decides.

“Alright.” He said, picking up the scissors. “Hold still.”

Zelda does. 

Snip snip snip goes the scissors, and Zelda sucks in a breath as her hair falls to the ground. “My head feels light.” She wonders. 

“Long hair has a surprising amount of weight to it.” He agrees. “I’m not done yet, though. The back of your head still needs to be neatened up.”

“Alright.” She says.

Snip, snip, snip. Link makes more cuts, stopping occasionally to comb or brush her hair, making and undoing clips and ties as he goes. Zelda’s hair neatens as he evens out the length. A professional, he is not, but so much time taking care of his own hair has left him with some degree of skill in the matter.

It takes, according to his Sheikah Slate, about twenty minutes before he’s satisfied that her new haircut fits her. Zelda is surprised it ended so quickly, because Impa and her old maids could take _hours_ on even a simple trim.

“It’s short.” Zelda says. “I can actually feel air on the nape of my neck. This is _amazing_.” Her fingers brush over her hair.

The squawking noise that comes from Purah, Robbie, Symin, and Jerrin when Zelda steps out of the room probably would have been more appropriate from a Rito, but Purah is quick to cheer about Zelda’s new look. It suits her, she thinks.

“ _I love it_.” Zelda tells him, later on in the night.

Link preens, quietly, with the satisfaction of a job well done.

But the night passes, and with it, the second day. Maz Koshia regretfully informs him that he should probably take it easy for the day, because he’ll need his strength at midnight. He’s right, of course, so Link refrains from any longer sessions of flying for the day. He elects to simply spend it in Zelda’s company. It’s an easy, familiar thing, one that he had missed. One that he was about to lose for several more months.

Time passes unfairly quickly. There’s irony in that, because Link himself always has as much time to himself as he needs, but he can never spend it with others. 

Maz Koshia gets him in the scanner half an hour before midnight.

Zelda gives him a hug, as she always does. She and all the others load the data of their slates into Fi, and then he settles.

Maz Koshia’s foresight was good. It takes Link nearly ten minutes to slip back into the focused state. The time after that passes in what feels like the blink of an eye.

11:59.

The _something else_ starts pushing, and Link is there to meet it. Maz Koshia had been right, with something specific to focus on, holding the state _is_ easier. Link feels but barely even acknowledges the Ancient energy flowing through him, strengthening him.

12:00:00. 12:00:10. 12:00:20. 12:00:30. 12:00:40. 12:00:50.

It takes that long before he starts feeling the beginnings of the strain he did before.

12:01:00. 12:01:10. 12:01:20. 12:01:30. 12:01:40. 12:01:50.

Link’s teeth might have ground together, but that would be effort that isn’t focused on holding back this magic. His body is calm.

12:02:00. 12:02:10. 12:02:20. 12:02:30. 12:02:40. 12:02:50.

Sweat is a distraction. He remains unchanged. But his body is one matter, and his soul is another entirely. It is getting harder.

12:03:00. 12:03:10. 12:03:20.

Keep going.

12:03:35. 

Keep going.

12:03:40.

Keep going.

12:03:44.

Keep going.

12:03:47.

Keep going.

12:03:49.

Keep. Going.

12:03:50.

_Keep-_

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

It still hurts. 

But Link doesn’t want to get used to it. He wants it to keep hurting. The alternative, that he would come to just accept losing everyone around him, is unthinkable.

Link gets up, and manages this time to not jump out of his skin when his fingers touch the Fierce Deity Mask. 

Still there, still waiting. 

He sighs, and shifts out of the bed.

“ _Link?_ ” Zelda asks.

Link moves purposefully over to the Sheikah Slate, and calmly but quickly puts the Fierce Deity Mask away inside. “I need to tell you something, Zelda.”


	27. Chapter 27

Door to the shrine.

“ _Once more, Master Link._ ” Fi says. 

Fi’s safe. Relieving.

Link pries the plate off of the pedestal.

Maz Koshia. Instructions given.

Thanks and well-wishes given and received.

On foot, it’s a week-long trip to the Korok Forest. Link, fortunately, can fly now.

Link transforms. Normal dragon shape and colours, with no harness. There’s a fire in his heart, ice in his flesh, and lightning in his bones. Maz Koshia had been right; the three great Spirit Dragons’ blessings had come with him.

Link spreads his wings and _flies_.

He goes over Korok Forest, and then dives almost straight down once he’s above the pink leaves of the Great Deku Tree. The mist that surrounds it is near impenetrable, but Link manages to make his way through it, dodging the subtle strings of magic that flow through it.

The mist breaks into a bright clearing, and Link flares his wings wide to bleed off the speed. He lands with a soft thump, and then resumes his Hylian form.

The Master Sword pulses warmly in his hands. 

“That is significantly more convenient than other methods of travel.” Fi notes, materializing in front of him. Link lets out a brief laugh.

“Not having to spend a week without you is great.” He says, slinging the Master Sword onto his back.

There’s a deep hmm, and Link looks up.

“Over many years, I have seen many Heroes do many strange things.” The Deku Tree speaks up. “I must say, that was a new one.”

Link chuckles. “It’s a long story.” He says, and takes a seat. The Koroks, previously having hidden with his sudden appearance, now begin to poke their heads out. Initial surprise gone, they’ll be all over him in minutes. “But I’m not that busy at the moment.”

“Then please.” The Deku Tree says. “Do tell.”

And so Link does. The Koroks, as predicted, swarm all over him while he tells the story, and Link, obligingly, transforms into a dragon for them to examine. The little beings are certainly enthusiastic about it, jumping and hopping around him. Link allows it, since their curiosity is innocent and playful.

Link and Fi leave the forest the next day. 

They arrive in Kakariko not too long afterwards. Link refrains from gliding straight into the town, and instead comes in through the passage from Sahasra Slope. 

“For the travelling you must have done, those clothes are in surprisingly good condition.” Impa says, slowly. 

Link shrugs.

Her eyes narrow at him, slightly, but she sighs and lets it pass.

Link... has time to waste, now. It’s been a day since he left the Plateau, and Maz Koshia is nowhere _near_ finished on the Interface. It will take another week after that before he’s ready to host guests.

Fast travel proved to have problems with its convenience. 

Link and Fi go to Hyrule Field, and then start recovering the Guardians. That takes another two days off by the time they’re done and there aren't any of them left, so Link heads to Akkala and recovers the Guardians there, too. Another day off.

Link goes up Lanayru, and frees Naydra. The Spirit Dragon can clearly feel the blessing he’d received from her already, and refrains from flying away immediately when her scale has been offered to the Spring of Wisdom.

Instead, the Spirit examines him, closely, head turning and twisting from side to side as her eyes flicked over his body.

“ **Unfortunate fate.** ” Naydra decides, and then lifts into the sky.

Naydra knows. 

Link goes down to the Lanayru Wetlands, and then follows the long, winding path into Zora’s Domain. Vah Ruta, Waterblight.

King Dorephan makes the offer for him to stay while the Zora are celebrating, and Link actually ends up taking it this time. Link spends most of it wandering around the Domain and helping people, as he usually does. At some point, and Link isn’t entirely sure how, he and Sidon end up having a sparring match in front of most of the Domain.

Sidon’s skills with a spear are almost as good as Mipha’s, but his larger size affords him longer reach and greater strength. Against Link, specifically, that doesn’t matter, but it certainly makes for a spectacle.

“You are much stronger than one would expect.” Sidon compliments. 

Link chuckles. “Back when I was a part of the Hylian army, they used to have me play the part of a Lynel in training.”

Sidon looks at him, eyes flicking up and down his small stature. Link isn’t offended, because he’s fully aware that he is literally less than half of Sidon’s height.

“It’s true!” King Dorephan laughs. “I remember Mipha telling me about that.”

Two days.

Another day left on the clock to Maz Koshia finishing his Interface, and Link realizes then and there that he is really going to need to find a better way to waste time, or he is going to go stir-crazy.

One day, unfortunately, is not enough time to go after another Divine Beast, so Link heads to Faron, instead. One night, half of Faron’s shrines completed, and then Maz Koshia calls for him.

“There was a great wealth of data recorded.” Maz Koshia informs him. “The sensors worked as intended.”

Link sighs in relief. 

“It will still take time to analyze.” Maz Koshia reminded him. 

“That’s fine with me.” Link shrugged. “Do you still want me to get the others again?”

Maz Koshia nodded. “On that subject, there is something to say. While it would take me a week to prepare this area for permanent habitation alone, it would only take three days with both their assistance, and the Ancient Oven. If they are comfortable with that, then retrieving them quickly would be helpful.”

Link raised an eyebrow. “I am fairly certain you already know the answer to that question.”

Maz Koshia’s head tipped. Amusement. Of course he knew.

“I’ll be back in a bit.” Link says, moving to head out, before pausing. “You wouldn’t happen to have an extra Sheikah Slate on hand already, would you?”

Maz Koshia does, in fact, have one on hand. He has several in hand, actually, and he gives four of them to Link. He also gives Link the tools he needs to repair Ancient equipment, which Link hadn’t _forgotten_ about, exactly, but he definitely hadn’t been thinking about them.

Link flies to Hateno.

“Linky!” Purah cheers, before her eyes flick to his waist. “Why do you have five Sheikah Slates?”

“Long story.” He says.

Purah and Symin are shortly recruited, and he hands both of them a Slate. They strip the entire tech lab bare in an hour, and then they use his Slate to go back to the Plateau. Link gives the introductions, and then he leaves.

Link flies to Akkala.

“Link!” Robbie says, happy to see him. His head tips, slightly. “Why do you have three Sheikah Slates?”

“Long story.” He says.

Robbie and Jerrin are shortly recruited, and he hands both of them a Slate. They strip the entire tech lab bare in an hour, and then they go back to the Plateau.

“How did you get to Akkala _that quickly_?!” Purah demands of him.

“Why are you a child?!” Robbie demands of her.

Introductions are given. Purah does not yet receive an answer to her question, as Link has neatly dodged it. He donates half the meals he’s built up in his Sheikah Slate to all of them, enough to cover two full weeks, and then he heads out again.

Death Mountain. Vah Rudania. Fireblight.

Rito Village. Vah Medoh. Windblight.

Gerudo Town. Vah Naboris. Thunderblight.

Shrines. Helping people. Tarrey Town. 

One month. 

Link is running out of things to do.

“Can I help out here?” Link asks.

“There’s not exactly a whole lot for you _to_ do.” Purah says. She’s older, again. “We’re basically working on the design side of things at the moment. All the notes and technical data from last time just needed to be implemented, and most of the physical side of things are pretty much done now.”

Well.

That was unfortunate.

Link makes a promise to himself. Next time, he _will_ take it slower. Hyrule is a beautiful land, and it deserves to be admired.

Until then...

“How many Korok Seeds did you have in those Maracas, anyway?” He asks Hetsu.

“Nine hundred, shaka!” Hetsu claims, proudly.

...

Nine _hundred_?

After literally three dozen loops, Link had only found _half of them_?

Well.

At least he’ll have something to do.

Two months.

Three.

Maz Koshia contacts him, then. The Sheikah have set up everything they need for this cycle.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

“You’ve never been that good at doing nothing.” She says, hugging him. “That said, there are a lot more Koroks than I would have thought.”

Goddess, doesn’t he know it. Nearly two months of searching, and he’d only gotten up to seven hundred and forty.

“Ready to meet everybody?” He asks.

Zelda rests her head in the crook of his shoulder. “Can’t wait.”

Plateau. Greetings all around, from everyone. 

The large machine has expanded even more, now. It’s almost a chamber in its own right, if not for the fact that it has no real walls. 

Link gets scanned, again, mostly just to make sure that nothing has changed. He comes back, finding Zelda staring at her Sheikah Slate with a curious expression.

“Something wrong?” He asks.

“No.” She says. She turns her Slate around, holding it out to him.

It’s a picture of her, smiling widely, with a lock of much shorter hair in her fingers. 

“You were quite fond of it.” He says.

“I must have been.” Zelda smiles softly. “Right at the top of the notes I’ve left for myself is the word ‘haircut’.”

“We can do it as soon as you want.” He promises. “After breakfast.”

“The second thing on those notes is ‘go flying’.” She says, lips quirking up.

“That can come right after.” He agrees.

Zelda giggles.

But it’s one thirty in the morning, so they sleep.

Breakfast is as quick and efficient and ever.

“I went through the last of your food nearly three weeks ago, and you have no idea how much I missed it.” Purah tells him.

He chuckles.

“I do have some more information for you, too.” Maz Koshia begins, right after they’re all done. “The scanners were thorough, and managed to acquire considerable insight into the magic that’s making you loop.”

The only people who had ever managed to command Link’s attention more easily were Zelda and Fi.

“It is something of a mix between a Curse and a Spell.” Maz Koshia states. “This is actually quite curious, as these two applications of magic do not mix easily or well. This magic is no exception, and appears to be unstable, lacking the long term reliability of a Curse, and missing most of the short term potency of a Spell. For sake of simplicity, I have labeled it as a Hex.”

“Hex...” Zelda tested the word out.

“Yes. My analysis of it reveals the answer to several questions that had presented themselves to me.” Maz Koshia held up a hand. “Primarily, those questions are thus: How was a seemingly instantaneous effect that only a Spell should have been able to produce activating after a delay, how could it be fought off in the manner that it was, and how was it cast such that Link, who is sensitive to Magic, didn’t notice it being applied to him.”

The monk shifted again, tapping at his Sheikah Slate. 

“In practice, this Hex functions as a delayed Spell. It is unstable, but it is constructed such that its decay activates it.” Maz Koshia explained. “The Curse portion of it exists entirely to give it longevity. It would not be entirely inaccurate to say that it is a Curse being applied to a Spell, actually. This explains why it could achieve such an effect.”

“Is it that important?” Purah asked.

“The concept of a delayed Spell, by itself? Not particularly. In relevance to how it is being pushed back, however, yes.” Maz Koshia nodded. “A Spell, like I said, is entirely about short-term effects. A Spell that creates fire does precisely that. If one were to feed such a Spell more magical energy, however, it would just become stronger. More flames. Hotter flames. It wouldn’t produce the same effect over a longer time, unless it was a continuous effect, which the act of sending a soul back in time isn’t. That brings into question, then, how Link is able to delay it. The Hex uses a continuous amount of energy that Link has to match and fight back against, but, again, all it is trying to do is send something back in time. It should be able to use all the energy at once, which Link would have to match in order to halt. It would be done once, and then it would be over. It should not be a continuous struggle.”

“But it is.” Zelda noted. “And that’s where the part about it not having the short term potency comes in.”

“Indeed.” Maz Koshia nods. “It cannot, in fact, use more than a particular amount of energy at a time. This is good for us, because as I mentioned, the Hex is unstable. It is actively decaying. If its effects are able to be held off for long enough, then it will disperse entirely.”

“And I will stop being sent back in time?” Link asks, hopefully.

“Yes.” Maz Koshia agrees. “Which brings me to the third question; how it is being applied to him without his notice. If the Hex is not a Curse, and lacks the ability to linger over long periods of time, then it stands to reason that Link is constantly having it reapplied to him. It’s lack of detectability led me to believe that Calamity was simply being very subtle, but having now seen it in action, I’ve come to believe otherwise. The answer, simply, is that it isn’t.”

“It... isn’t?” Robbie asked. “Then how is he getting sent back?”

“As I said, the Hex activates as it decays.” Maz Koshia states. “But Link cannot detect it being applied to him at any point. At no point does it seem like Calamity is controlling its magic to form this Hex. What I believe is happening is that the Hex already existed, before Link went to fight Calamity.”

“Isn’t it unstable?” Link asked.

“Yes, which led me to my hypothesis; Calamity’s presence maintains the Hex.” Maz Koshia shared. “Link is not detecting it being cast upon him, because it is already on him, before he even wakes. Link defeats Calamity, and the Hex activates, and his soul is sent back to the past. I believe that the Hex goes with his soul, and, upon arriving in a time period where Calamity is still active, therefore regenerates and becomes ready for use again.” He shifts. “Which is a theory that raises several questions of its own, but a theory that fits all current available data.”

“Other questions?” Zelda looked up.

“Yes.” Maz Koshia nods. “And this brings me to something I have only speculated until recently. I do not believe that Link was the intended target of this Hex.”


	28. Chapter 28

Link blinks. “What.”

“It did not make any sense to me.” Maz Koshia stated. “To send you back in time, over and over and over again, after Calamity was continually defeated? Why? What would the point be? If Calamity was able to engineer such a power, why would it make you the target?”

“To...” Link paused, briefly. “... break my spirit?” He asked.

Maz Koshia scoffed. Actually, physically, scoffed. “You are the Hero.” He says. “Countless times, your incarnations have clashed with that of Calamity’s. Never has a Hero truly lost their will. To further tie the act of going back in time to requiring Calamity’s defeat? If that was Calamity’s intent, then it’s actively self-sabotaging.” Maz Koshia shakes his head. “No. Far more likely is that the one intended to benefit from this Hex was Calamity itself.”

Link’s blood ran cold. The idea of Calamity being the one who was looping ran through his head.

Link thought about Calamity. That first true battle had been hard fought. Calamity Ganon had been a dangerous force with a number of tricks. Dark Beast Ganon had been a monster of unending power.

And Link had won. And then he fought again, and it had only gotten easier, because he already knew what to expect. He’d seen all of Calamity’s tricks. Knew exactly what it was capable of.

If _he_ had been on the opposite end of that? If _Calamity_ had come to know him, know his tactics and his strategy and his preparations? If Calamity had only gotten more and more skilled, while he stayed the same?

Suddenly, the fact that _he_ was the one looping seemed a blessing.

“That look on your face tells me you understand the possible consequences of that possibility.” Maz Koshia stated. “In truth, I’m not certain it hasn’t already benefited.”

Link swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“Purah and Robbie have told me of Calamity’s emergence, one hundred years ago.” Maz Koshia states. “As I hear, Calamity appeared, and then almost instantly started to corrupt the Guardians. It appeared at the worst possible time, when all the Champions were far away from their Divine Beasts, while you and the Princess were far from easily being able to go back to the castle and battle it. From what Fi has informed me of, the Blights sent to the Divine Beasts were purpose-made to defeat their respective Champions.” He pauses, briefly. “Which is a curiously prescient sequence of events.”

“You think Calamity looped back when it first arose.” Zelda said, softly.

Maz Koshia nodded. “I have no proof in the matter.” He admits. “But Calamity should have been locked away for ten thousand years. It should not have had the chance to become familiar enough with our technology to so easily corrupt it. It should not have had the chance to learn the positions and locations of the Guardians, spread out across much of Hyrule. It did not fail in acquiring even a single one that was active. It should not have known what the Champions who piloted the Divine Beasts were capable of. And the chance of it appearing at the utterly perfect moment to cause the most chaos, to have the most time to establish itself? Low indeed. But it makes sense, considering this current situation, that Calamity did in fact previously benefit from future knowledge brought forth from its own defeat.”

The room went quiet. Several seconds passed in silence.

“Of course, that isn’t the only possibility.” He states. “It is also possible that Calamity revived and didn’t rampage immediately. It might have taken some time to hide, and attempt its corruption while underground, when it was unknown. It should have been capable of sensing the two of you, and it might have waiting until you were both far away, getting lucky in the fact that the Champions also weren’t with their Divine Beasts. The Blights could have formed from information recovered from the corrupted Divine Beasts. It would be terribly unfortunate, but sometimes, statistically unlikely events do occur.”

Link grunted. “But the fact that _I_ am time looping because of Calamity’s magic almost certainly means it’s the former.”

“It is a simpler explanation that fits existing data points.” Maz Koshia agrees. “But it is unknowable, and ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Whatever the circumstance of then, it cannot be changed. What matters is that you are the recipient of the Hex, not Calamity.”

“If Calamity was benefitting from such a loop, then there’s a question in how this Hex managed to get transferred to Link.” Zelda noted. “Which isn’t relevant to breaking it.”

“Just so.” Maz Koshia nods.

Silence, again. Briefer, this time, but only by a moment or two.

“What other questions were there?” Link asked. “‘Why apply to me’ is one, but what’s the rest?”

“For the most part, they are questions related to the mechanics of the Hex.” Maz Koshia shifted. “First; whether or not Calamity is aware it is not the target of the Hex, if it did indeed try to target itself.”

“Since the Hex is helping Link grow stronger, I wouldn’t think so.” Zelda said. “That’s self-defeating.”

“Agreed.” Maz Koshia nodded. “Which leads into the second; how much effort is tied into maintaining the Hex. Considering that Calamity appears unaware of the fact that Link is looping, I believe it is almost entirely passive, or unconscious. Calamity’s mere existence strengthens it. Historically, this is not unprecedented, as Monsters grow in strength, numbers, and cruelty whenever Calamity is becoming active. This Hex’s stability being tied to the same would not be surprising.”

“Would Calamity be able to deliberately cause it to decay?” Zelda asked.

“I am not certain.” Maz Koshia stated. “And I do not think so. Calamity would have no reason to try it, if it believed it would still benefit, but if it were to actually try? It is contained by you. If it tried to have time loop while you were actively channelling the power of Hylia, then it would likely face severe consequences. Hylia is the Goddess of Time, after all.”

“But the Goddess doesn’t notice afterwards?” Purah questioned.

“After Calamity is sealed, the Goddess would retreat to recover to recover Her strength.” Maz Koshia answered. “I can only speculate that this occurring after She does so is why She has not noticed. It does not make much sense to me, otherwise.” He shifted again, straightening up. “There is a third matter, as well. That being the energy source of this Hex.”

“Energy source?” Zelda asked. “It’s... not the Hex itself?”

“As far as I could tell? No.” Maz Koshia shook his head. “The Hex drew a steady amount of power, even as it was decaying. It must be connected to something else, but I’m not sure what else it could be drawing upon, as Calamity being banished is what is causing it to decay in the first place.” He hummed. “I would like to examine Calamity’s Seal, but that is unfortunately impossible until we break this Hex.”

Link looks at Zelda, who met his eyes. “Calamity’s Seal?”

“Two loops previous, my self-of-then informed you as to the circumstances of the battle ten thousand years ago.” Maz Koshia reminded. “We could not kill Calamity, so we sealed it instead.”

Link remembered that, yes.

“Calamity evidently managed to eventually break free.” Maz Koshia continued. “But the site of the Seal itself might still be intact.”

“Where was it actually sealed?” Zelda asked.

“Deep underground, far beneath Hyrule Castle.” Maz Koshia answered. “Some of our technology still remains down there, in those long buried chasms. It is possible that Calamity managed to convert some of them into an energy storage, which is what is actually fueling the Hex.”

“I could go looking in the next loop?” Link asked.

Maz Koshia shook his head again. “You would not be able to.” He stated. “They are long buried, and what few passages that led there all required the Princess to open. Excavation would be impossible while Calamity still remains, and three days is not enough time to get to them, regardless.”

Zelda pulled out her Sheikah Slate. “We’ll have to investigate that after the Hex is broken.” She said, tapping at her Slate. “If there is still some lingering traces of Malice, they can’t be allowed to continue existing.”

“Wait.” Purah said. “Wouldn’t Calamity have had to make its way out ? Wouldn’t there be a passage?”

“No.” Maz Koshia denied. “Not only could it have collapsed any such passage behind it, Calamity has transformed into an entity of pure Malice. It is mostly ethereal, and thus could have passed straight through the earth and rock.”

“Which it did.” Purah remembered. “Popping right out of the ground underneath the Castle.”

“Transformed?” Link noticed his choice of words.

“When Calamity was sealed, it still held the form of Ganondorf.” Maz Koshia explained. Link idly noticed Zelda mouth the name to herself. “It likely abandoned that form in order to escape the chasm, and then tried to incarnate itself again afterwards.”

“Except I interrupted that by sealing it with myself.” Zelda nodded. “Although, I think we’ve gone off track for a while. You mentioned that all we have to do is outlast this Hex, and it will break on its own?”

“Yes.” Maz Koshia agreed. “It is unstable and decaying.” He repeated. “The rate seemed steady from what observations I could make, but I cannot say for certain whether or not it would stay that way, as more time passed.”

“How long?” Link asked.

“Approximately eight hours, on the upper end.” Maz Koshia said. 

Link winced. “We’ve only managed three minutes and fifty seconds.” He said. “Eight hours of that...”

“Do not be dismayed.” Maz Koshia encouraged. “The strength of your magic has continued to grow as these loops have passed. Even if we were to make no further progress in assisting you, it is only a matter of time before you will break free.” His head tipped to the side. “Though it would be a long time, admittedly. Still, brute force is an inelegant approach, and I do believe that there is still much progress to make.” He gestured to the larger machine. “We have further refined the Meditation Assistant Devices that were used last time. There is a greater number, and they are more powerful, as well. I anticipate that, this time, you shall be able to last at approximately three times as long.”

“That’s... still not a very long time.” Link sighs. 

But it was only the beginning, and he understood that.

And it was much more time than he’d ever had before.

He shakes his head. “Is there anything else?”

“Not too much of importance.” Maz Koshia shook his head. “I will require your assistance later in order to make sure that these were calibrated correctly, but aside from that, you are free to do as you wish.” He pressed his fingers together, bowing his head. “And that can wait until tomorrow. It has been several months since you last saw the Princess. None will begrudge you to spend a day in her company.” 

A small kindness, ultimately, but a kindness nonetheless. 

Link nodded. 

Zelda smiled at him. “So, about that haircut...”

Link chuckles.

Zelda gets a haircut. She loves it just as much as last time, which makes Link glad. Shorter hair does suit her, with the way that it seems to free her of old responsibilities. A metaphorical, and almost literal, separation from her past.

Maz Koshia produces the harness for his Dragon form. Apparently, it was among the items whose technical data was transferred. Purah looks at it, openly curious. Then Link turns into a dragon, and her jaw drops.

“I am honestly surprised you didn’t leave a note to yourself about this.” Link admits.

Purah stares, blankly. “Why would I _not_ tell myself about this?!”

Zelda giggles.

They go flying. Zelda loves it. Her braids and clips actually hold together pretty well throughout it all, which Link is admittedly surprised about. The rest of her hair is thrown in almost every direction, and doesn’t have nearly enough weight to it anymore to settle, which Link isn’t surprised about.

Link ends up flying all the way out to the Gerudo Highlands. The cold is manageable with the new clothes, but Link hands her a Flameblade just to be safe.

“Did I really burn that filthy dress with this last time?” She asks, holding it up. 

“You have never failed to.” Link says. “And I’ll admit, I’m surprised you haven’t gotten rid of it already. Normally, it’s among the first things you do.” He pauses. “Actually, I think _I_ was the one who forgot this time.”

Zelda laughs, and leans against him. The Summit of the Gerudo Highlands, for once, isn’t snowing, and that means they have a very good view of most of Hyrule. He can tell the exact moment a thought occurs to her, by the way her hands still, her heartbeat slows, and her gaze becomes distant.

He watches as, quite obviously to him, she turns it over in her head, considering it. It takes a few seconds for her to voice it.

“You can breathe fire, yes?” She asks.

Link snorts. “I am at your command.” He says.

Zelda produces the filthy dress. It is less filthy now that it’s been through her Sheikah Slate, but it’s still obviously not in good condition. Rumpled, a bit torn, and stretched in some places. She balls it up and tosses it away.

“Burn it.” She commands.

Link inhales, and calls upon both Naydra’s and Dinraal’s Blessings. He wraps Zelda in an aura of cold, careful not to let it touch her, and feeds a truly great amount of power into the fire. He’s careful to control it, though.

The scarlet flames leap from his mouth, thin and focused. It washes over the dress, and steaming mist bursts into the air. The dress is incinerated utterly, and even through the shield of cold, Zelda briefly flinches away from the burst of heat.

But she watches, almost entranced, as the flames linger upon the snow, continuing to burn regardless of... everything, really. It’s cold, there’s no fuel, it’s literally _snow_ , but it burns anyway, because it’s semi-divine fire and such paltry things as physics are irrelevant to it.

“There is something _viscerally_ satisfying in watching that.” Zelda says, after a bit. Her smile is terribly wide. “My one regret is that I can’t get you to do that, _and_ burn it myself.”

“And Impa has the gall to call _me_ the arsonist.” Link muses.

“You are the one who burned it.” She returns, but her smile hasn’t changed a bit.

Link scoffs.

Zelda watches until the flames finally die out nearly half an hour later. Then, they fly back.

The look on Purah’s face when they get back is _quite_ something. 

The first day passes peacefully. 

On the second day, Maz Koshia recruits Link, again. The whole process of test and calibration proves much shorter this time, but Zelda still ends up dragging the others outside, because _that_ isn’t any different. Link only spends three hours with Maz Koshia, and most of that first hour is just trying to get back into the focused state. It’s been months, after all.

But he gets it quicker, this time, and the third hour is simply the hour where Maz Koshia has him hold the focus, proving he can keep it for longer periods of time. Link ends up joining the others this time, and it turns into something of an impromptu picnic.

It’s lovely.

But the third day rolls around, and the curtains are drawing to a close. Zelda spends most of it with him again, and she’s such a wonderful person, like that.

11:30.

Link goes into meditation.

11:59.

The new improvements to the devices show their worth. It isn’t easier to push back against the Hex, but it is, somehow, easier to hold onto his strength.

12:03:30.

It won’t be this time. It won’t be next time, either. But to have already made so much progress? Incredible.

12:07:00.

When he thinks about it in those terms, it’s easier to accept.

12:10:00

But it isn’t enough. Not yet.

12:10:10.

12:10:14.

12:10:17.

12:10:19.

The last few seconds are always the worst. Always the most draining. 

But he doesn’t have to deal with them for very long.

12:10:20.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”


	29. Chapter 29

Link gets up. He puts the Fierce Deity Mask away. He informs Zelda.

Shrine door.

“ _Yet again, Master Link._ ” Fi chimes.

She’s safe. Good.

Informing Maz Koshia. 

One week to wait. 

Link had promised himself that he would take his time and not just fly everywhere, and he will keep that promise, but...

Link flies to the Korok Forest, because while he is willing to take his time and walk, he’s _not_ willing to stay away from Fi for any longer than is strictly necessary.

So. First thing on the list; get Fi back. Everything else can come in its own time.

One day in the Korok Forest. Three days wandering around Hyrule Field, reclaiming Guardians from Calamity. Slower, now that he isn’t flying the distance. Three more days just to get to Kakariko from there. 

Maz Koshia calls him back, then.

Not too much changes from this time to last time. Maz Koshia sends him out to retrieve Purah, Robbie, Symin, and Jerrin. Link _does_ fly in order to reach them quicker, too, since the earlier they can get to it, the better.

But after that, he limits himself mostly to walking and riding the Guardians.

Zora’s Domain. Waterblight. Staying a while. 

Faron. Necluda. Akkala. 

Death Mountain. Fireblight. Link passes on Daruk’s words to Yunobu. 

And, normally, he would leave not long afterwards, but Link _is_ trying to take more time, so...

“Would you like to hear more about him?” He asks Yunobu.

The Goron perks up, intrigued. 

Daruk had always been among the most reliable, steadfast people he’d ever known, but Link did have some stories to tell.

“I once saw him using his Boulder Breaker to mine while he was eating.” Link shared. “He ended up taking a bite out of it while smashing the Rock Roast.”

“No.” Yunobo whispers.

“Yes.” Link nods.

Daruk would have been terribly embarrassed. But he’d have made a joke, laughed, and it all would have led into a hilarious night.

He wasn’t here to participate. But Daruk was still watching. There wasn’t too much Link could do for him, but this? This he definitely could.

Link ends up staying the night. 

Rito Village. Vah Medoh. Windblight.

Gerudo Town. Vah Naboris. Thunderblight.

Hebra. Gerudo Highlands. Tarrey Town. Shrines. 

Two and a half months.

Koroks. 

He finds maybe another new twenty five before Maz Koshia calls him again. Seven hundred and sixty five, the total is now at.

Ganon. Zelda.

Hugs. Plateau.

The large machine has expanded even further. It’s so large, in fact, that Maz Koshia has excavated a portion of the cavern they’re in order to make room for it.

“Not much has changed, with this cycle.” Maz Koshia explains. “It is simply more powerful still.”

Maz Koshia refrains from dropping any new, horrifying theories with even more horrifying implications on his head this time around. Which Link appreciates.

It means he is able to spend most of the next three days relaxing.

Purah, in fact, _has_ left herself information about his being able to transform into a dragon thing, this time. It seems that, with the benefit of however much time she’s known about it, she’s at least able to restrain her curiosity enough to not immediately jump on him about it.

Zelda gets a haircut, again, and she still loves it. He flies to Hebra, this time, far away from any hint of people. Zelda has him burn the filthy dress again.

Next time, he’s going to prepare a bonfire for it. Somewhere drier and warmer, where the immense heat won’t send up plumes of steam and mist, so Zelda will have the best possible view of the dress being utterly incinerated.

Overdramatic? Perhaps. But, on the other hand, he should at least keep things interesting.

Day one passes. Day two is similar to last time, and Maz Koshia borrows him for three hours. When he’s finished, he joins the others for another picnic. It’s nice.

Day three arrives. It’s calm and peaceful.

11:30.

Link enters meditation, again.

12:00:00.

The difference to last time is noticeable. It is relatively even quite large, in fact.

12:04:20.

It won’t be enough. Maz Koshia had already informed him of _that_.

12:08:40.

But every little bit helps.

12:13:00.

12:14:40.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Loop number thirty three.

Link gets up. He pauses, just before he puts the Fierce Deity Mask away.

He flips it over in his hands, staring at its face. His face. The presence inside the mask has been patient, all this time. It still waits, even now.

It seems totally unbothered by the fact that he’s been doing his best to ignore it.

“ _Link?_ ” Zelda asks.

Link sighs. “I have something I need to tell you, Zelda.”

At the very least... he does need to do some investigation.

Zelda is shortly informed.

Shrine door.

“ _Six times, Master Link._ ”

Fi is safe. Good.

Maz Koshia.

Another week.

Flight to the Korok Forest. Getting Fi back again. Link hesitates, after he’s finished his conversation with the Great Deku Tree. 

“There’s something else, too.” He says. “Something I recovered a while ago. It... stays with me.”

The Great Deku Tree hmms. “It must be something powerful. And something unsettling, for you to be this reluctant to mention it.”

“It’s a mask.” Link says. “It has white hair. Red marks on the cheeks. A blue V shape on the forehead. There’s the power of a Deity inside, and... it has my face.”

The Deku Tree pauses. “Ah. Reasonable.”

“You don’t know anything about it?” He asked.

“I cannot say that I do.” The Deku Tree apologizes. 

Link sighs, but nods. It had been a longshot anyway. “Thanks anyway.”

Link plays with the Koroks, and leaves the forest the next day. 

He and Fi go by Hyrule Field again, recovering the Guardians as he can. Then he journeys to Kakariko.

“A mask with a Deity inside...” Cotera considers. “Can’t say that I’ve heard anything like that.”

“You don’t seem particularly surprised about the ‘it has my face’ part.” Link couldn’t help but note.

“You’ve got a handsome face, darling~” Cotera waved her hand. “And your Spirit _has_ existed since the earliest ages of the world. It is quite a bit older than many beings, and a lot of Deities are included in that. You’re an inspiration, don’t you know?”

Link had not really thought about it in those terms, specifically, but he supposed that Cotera had a point.

Maz Koshia calls him back later the same day.

Link comes back, of course, and Maz Koshia uses the Interface.

“The Meditation Assistant Devices are reaching the limits of their effectivity.” Maz Koshia reported. 

“They can’t be made better?” Link asked.

“They could.” Maz Koshia considers. “But further improvements will be victim to diminishing returns.”

Link frowned. “What do we do, then?”

“Do not worry.” He says. “That was only a single vector of action that we have explored. All that those devices do is increase your ability to maintain your energy. There are other options, such as increasing the efficiency of your efforts, and interfering with the Hex itself. I believe the latter will have a more noticeable effect at the moment, so I shall explore that possibility first.”

Link nodded. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“Yes, actually.” Maz Koshia stated. “I need you to retrieve the Shadow Crystal and the Sword of Six Sages from their vaults.”

“I can get them both in three or four hours.” Link said. “When do you need them?”

“Not immediately.” Maz Koshia said. “But I will be ready to use them in four days.”

“I’ll get the others first, then.” Link said.

Link goes to leave, but pauses before gets more than a few steps away. He licks his lips, before turning back around. 

“You know the mask, right?” He asks.

Maz Koshia’s movements become much slower. “I do.” He answers, after a moment. “Do you intend to use it?”

“No.” Link says, quickly. “It’s just... It’s still been waiting for me. I thought I should at least... _try_ to investigate it, rather than just let it sit there.”

Maz Koshia’s head tips, slowly. “The Hero has been a champion to many Deities.” He said. “I would advise that you trust your instincts.”

“I’ll... keep that in mind.” Link says.

He leaves, after that. 

Purah, Robbie, Symin, Jerrin, all recruited, sent to Maz Koshia. Link, after that, flies to the Forgotten Temple, and retrieves the Sword of Six Sages. From there, he flies to the Gerudo Desert, arriving near sunset. It takes a while to dig through the sand, but he retrieves the Shadow Crystal, too.

He hands them over to Maz Koshia slightly later. For the moment, the Sheikah Monk just leaves them in storage, where nobody else might accidentally end up getting cursed or something similar. Not a danger for the Sword of Six Sages, but a very real possibility with the Shadow Crystal.

From there, it’s back to the usual. 

Link goes to Zora’s domain, and frees Vah Ruta. He stays a few days while the ceremony goes on, and once again ends up sparring with Sidon. From there, it’s down to Lanayru, then heading through Necluda and into Faron. Back up from there into Akkala, and then left into Eldin. 

Goron City. Vah Rudania. Sharing some stories about Daruk with Yunobu.

Rito Village. Vah Medoh.

Gerudo Desert. Vah Naboris.

Hebra, Gerudo Highlands, Tarrey Town, Shrines.

Two and a half months.

Link stares at the Sheikah Slate. The image of the Fierce Deity Mask meets his eyes.

The problem with the idea of investigating it is that there really aren’t many people who could _tell him_ things about it. It’s an old, old item. Ten thousand years, at least, and probably coming from an Age before that, too. It’s older than the Great Fairies. It’s older than the three Spirit Dragons. The Deku Tree was younger, but he maintained memories of his previous selves, except it didn’t matter because none of them had ever learned about it. Fi was older than it, probably, but she also never learned about it. Nothing had survived in legends or myth about it if it was even told of in the first place, and that left Link with precisely two sources of information.

First, his own spirit.

Second, the mask itself.

His spirit, unfortunately, couldn't be interrogated on the subject, and the presence in the mask...

Well.

Malanya was one thing. The Spirit Dragons were another thing. Hylia’s split off fragment of her being was a third. An actual, true, complete _Deity_ , with such incredible power?

That was a lot more than just _a thing_.

Link would get to it.

Just not yet.

So-

Koroks.

Link ends up going through Tabantha, this time. The relatively close proximity of Rito Village, and more specifically the Swallow’s Roost Inn, proves to be a powerful temptation, and he ends up resting there.

Kass is back in the Village, Link learns the next day. The accordion gives it away, joining in with all the other musical sounds that pervade Rito Village. Not entirely willing to go back to searching for the Koroks just yet, he ends up going to visit.

Kass isn’t all too surprised to see him. The two of them did have a habit of running into each other, after all. Kass greets him happily, as do his daughters.

One thing leads to another, and Link ends up invited into Kass’ roost. His wife, Amali, seems a little rushed today, so Link ends up helping her cook food for the children while he, she, and Kass talk.

“Ever played an instrument?” Kass asks.

“I’m fairly certain the only instrument I’ve even so much as touched is a Zora Guitar when I was four.” Link responds.

“Rito don’t really have the fingers necessary for string instruments.” Amali hums. “Though I think I have a harp laying around, somewhere.”

Kass laughs. It’s a musical sound, coming from a Rito. “I still don’t know why you bought that.” He teases.

“I was curious!” Amali waves her wing at him. “And so were our daughters, as you well know. You’re the one who introduced them to instruments!”

Amali goes searching, and after a few minutes, does locate a harp. It’s a small thing, but well cared for.

She hands it to Link, who raises an eyebrow at her. “I’ve never heard it being played properly.”

“I’ve never played one in my life.” Link says, but he takes it anyway.

He pokes at each string a few times, and then finds his fingers launching into a dance over the strings. The melody isn’t a long one, but it is something familiar, and it does sound quite nice.

“‘Never played one in my life’.” Amali huffs. “Are you sure?”

“Perhaps a previous life.” Kass says, knowingly.

“Probably more than one.” Link glances at him, before holding the harp back out to Amali.

“Keep it.” She pushed it back to him. He blinks at her, and she smiles. For a Rito, the gesture is done mostly with their eyes. “Better off that somebody who can actually use it holds onto it.”

“Thank you.” Link bows his head.

Link leaves later that day, going back to searching for Koroks.

“Do you happen to know the song?” He asks.

“It is called ‘The Song of the Hero’.” Fi replies.

Link blinks at her. “Well, that’s a bit on the nose, isn’t it?”

Fi pauses, briefly. That gets his attention. “Can I make a request, Master Link?”

“Of course.” He answers.

“Please play it again.”

Link raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t hesitate to comply. He pulls out the harp, and then starts playing.

Fi almost immediately launches into a spinning, shifting dance, her movements timed with the music. It’s not a side he’s seen before, but it is somehow familiar. She hums in tune, and the chiming fits well with the sounds of the harp.

“You must have danced a lot.” He says.

“It was something of a habit.” She answers. “I... enjoyed it.”

“Well.” Link smiles. “I wouldn’t mind playing it again. You might have to teach me if you want some more variety, though.”

Fi gives him another one of those gentle smiles. Still so unfortunately rare.

But that makes each of them precious.

Link doesn’t get too much longer in this loop. It had been nearing the end, anyway. 

Maz Koshia calls, and that means it’s time.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

“I wouldn’t have imagined you as a musician, but it does somehow fit.” Zelda tells him.

“‘Musician’ might be going too far.” Link notes. “It’s only a harp.”

“It’s only a harp _so far_.” She counters. “The Hero of Time is historically associated with an ocarina. How many other instruments do you think your past selves might have learned?”

Considering how many past selves he _had_? “Probably a lot.” He says.

Well. Something else to do, next cycle.

Hugs. Plateau. Greetings.

The large machine hasn’t changed too much from last time, but there’s a new addition to the cavern, now. It’s a tall machine, with the Shadow Crystal floating in the center of it, trapped behind a shimmering blue barrier. It floats between a pair of spikes, energy flowing from the top spike into the Shadow Crystal, passing through it, and connecting to the bottom spike. The arc of energy is the same shade of orange as the lines on the Shadow Crystal, but halfway down the bottom spike, there’s another machine that the energy flows into, and when it emerges from _that_ , it does so as a strange, milky blue colour.

A tube at the bottom of this machine connects it to the larger one.

“It is an inverter.” Maz Koshia explains. “The power of Twilight is naturally suited to creating connections. It can form gateways to other locations, for example. That machine patterns Ancient Energy after it, and then inverts it. If everything functions correctly, then this device will thin the connections of the Hex, and decrease the amount of energy it can draw. In turn, this should make it easier for you to hold it off.”

“That’s incredible.” Zelda praises.

“That’s the Senior Nerd for ya!” Purah grins. “He’s a genius!”

Link looks around. “What happened to the Sword of Six Sages?” It was conspicuously absent.

“I had two plans to interfere with the Hex.” Maz Koshia explained. “The first to decrease its energy output, and the second to increase the rate at which it decayed. The Shadow Crystal would be useful for the former, while the Sword of Six Sages would be useful for the latter. Implementing both together will require more data, so I had to focus on one, and I judged that the effect of the Shadow Crystal would be more noticeable and useful, at this stage.”

Link nods. “Makes sense.”

“This will require greater calibration.” He stated. “I will require your assistance tomorrow.”

“That’s fine.” He agrees. 

Day one. Sleep, breakfast, Zelda’s haircut.

The flight this time goes all the way out to North Akkala Beach. 

“I’d forgotten what the ocean smelled like.” Zelda tells him. “I can taste the salt. I missed it.”

Link smiled. 

“Why out here, though?” She asks.

Link reaches for his Slate, and takes a bundle of chopped wooden logs in one hand and a Flameblade in the other.

“Ah.” Zelda smiles.

She even helps him build the pyre.

It’s a complete success.

Day one passes, and around comes day two. Calibrations with Maz Koshia take approximately five hours. Link can feel the undercurrent of the inverted Twilight mimicking Ancient Energy, and it is a _distinctly_ odd one. Like fire that burns cold. 

But he gets used to it, and manages to still catch something of a picnic with the others, too. Day two passes, and then day three.

11:30.

Link knows the schedule by now.

12:00:00.

It is, to him, immediately obvious that Maz Koshia has succeeded in what he’s set out to accomplish.

12:10:15.

It is _so much_ easier to hold it back, now. It is _definitely_ more noticeable. The flow is just as steady as before, but it’s lesser.

12:20:30.

12:30:45.

12:35:00.

12:38:30.

12:40:10.

12:41:10.

12:41:40.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”


	30. Chapter 30

Loop number thirty four.

Link gets up. Link goes to put the Fierce Deity Mask away, but he pauses before he finishes, again.

He sighs, flipping it over in his hand.

This time.

This time, he’s going to do it. It will be after Calamity, because there’s a _fine_ line between courage and recklessness, and this _is_ a Deity. Link won’t allow any possible consequences to fall on _other_ people.

But he will be doing it this time, because if he doesn’t, he’s never going to. If he doesn’t work up the nerve, he’s just going to let it sit there forever, and frankly, _that_ will be worse.

For now, though, he puts it away.

“I have something to tell you, Zelda.” He says.

Zelda is informed.

Shrine door.

“ _That was a significant jump in progress, Master Link._ ” Fi chimes. 

She’s safe. Good.

Maz Koshia.

Korok Forest. Fi. Conversation with the Deku Tree. Playing with the Koroks. 

A thought occurs to him right before he leaves. 

“Instruments?” Daz the Korok merchant of the General Shoppe repeats. “Hey, everyone! Mister Hero is looking for instruments!”

Link probably should have given it slightly more thought.

The Koroks waste no time in swarming him again. The tiny beings enthusiastically start pushing instruments, things that might be instruments, and things that might not be instruments at him. Link is shown flutes. Link is shown harps. Link is shown a guitar. Link is shown three sets of drums. There are percussion instruments. There are woodwind instruments. There are string instruments. There are brass instruments. There are even keyboard instruments. 

Five Koroks dance in a circle, and with a puff of smoke summon a _pipe organ_. 

Not a small one, either. One that’s just as large as the one that used to be stored in the castle.

One that might _be_ the one that used to be stored in the castle, actually, judging by the shape and the size and the faded colours and tarnished, but still somehow intact metal, wood, and ceramic.

Link stares at it for several seconds, before looking to the Deku Tree.

“Koroks have a habit of collecting things that have been abandoned.” The Deku Tree states. “Usually, they get bored and leave it somewhere else for someone else to find. Usually.”

Link opens his mouth.

He closes it, a moment later.

“Play something, mister Hero!” The Koroks request, enthusiastically.

Link looks at the pile of things, scanning over them. So many options. How many could he play? How many couldn’t he?

Link spies something small. It’s a wooden, smooth thing, not much larger than his hand.

An ocarina.

Well, that one he’d almost certainly be able to play.

He reaches for it, and picks it up. A bit dirty, but the Sheikah Slate takes care of that. The Koroks shake in anticipation, and Link can’t help but smile at them before he puts it to his lips.

His fingers don’t fail him, and Link starts playing a jaunty, upbeat tune. 

“It’s that one!” The Koroks cheer. “That one that one!”

Link is a bit startled, he’ll admit, but he keeps playing. It’s a fun little melody, though not a long one, and Link finishes it only a minute later.

The Koroks don’t seem to mind that, though, as they jump around and cheer.

“That is an old melody.” The Deku Tree says, slowly. “And one that I had not expected to hear again.”

“A good memory?” Link asks.

“Yes.” The Deku Tree agrees. “Saria’s Song is its name. It hails from the Era of Time...” The Deku Tree hummed the first few notes. “Thank you, Link.”

“It’s fine.” Link said. “It... wasn’t exactly intentional in the first place.”

The Deku Tree chuckled.

“Mister Hero!” One of the Koroks calls. “What else can you play?”

“I have no idea.” Link laughs. “Let’s find out.”

The answer to the question, it turns out, is ‘yes’. Link can play something on all of what they give him. The pipe organ might be the least familiar of them all, but he still manages to get a tune going. The Koroks don’t exactly have _every_ instrument, but there’s a pretty wide array, and Link is surprised by the fact that not even one of them trips him up.

He’s going to have to search for something he can’t play, because it’s ridiculous enough as it is. Weapons are one thing, pointy end goes in monster, but instruments are another.

The Koroks let him have the instruments they’ve picked up, and Link takes one of everything. Some of them, most of them even, will require restoration, but that’s fine. It’s another thing for him to do.

The pipe organ is so large that the Sheikah Slate refuses to store it. Tarnished as it is, that means that Link has to carefully disassemble it until the Sheikah Slate _does_ start storing it. Fi’s help is invaluable, with her sensory abilities enabling her to point him directly to all the little latches and connections that he has to undo. The Koroks’ help is... somewhat more dubious, but bless them, they’re trying their best.

Link leaves the forest quite a bit later than he’d intended, but that’s okay. 

Hyrule Field. Kakariko.

Maz Koshia calls him back, again.

“I am pleased with how well that worked.” Maz Koshia stated. 

“Well, it did nearly triple the previous time.” Link said. “And I think that’s worth being happy about.”

“For the moment, I shall focus on refining it.” Maz Koshia straightened. “Usage of the Shadow Crystal will effectively multiply all other efforts. It directly reduces the amount of energy you have to spend over time. With that said, further efforts will likely not be as dramatic.”

Link shrugs. “Everything helps.”

“Indeed.” Maz Koshia muses.

Link leaves. Purah, Symin. Robbie, Jerrin.

Zora’s Domain. Vah Ruta. Celebration.

Link is able to get quite a few of his instruments repaired, here. The Zora people live a long time, after all, even if this day and age demanded more skill with weaponry than it did with instruments. Still, he’s grateful, and he even manages to get a few of them to teach him some melodies.

Lanayru. Necluda. 

As Link passes through Hateno, he’s able to get a few more instruments repaired. For the most part, it’s not much more than the flutes or other woodwind instruments, but they sound _significantly_ better, now.

Faron. Akkala. Eldin.

Goron City. Vah Rudania. Stories.

Once again, Link can get a few more instruments repaired. For the most part, that’s the percussive instruments, because of course the Gorons would know all about _percussion_. Drums suit the Gorons well, even if he has to have the instruments treated for heat resistance so they don’t burst into flames in Death Mountain’s climate.

Rito Village. Vah Medoh.

Rito Village was, of course, full of Rito, who were in turn famed for their musical skill, among other things. Naturally, he’s able to get almost all of the rest of his instruments repaired, here. The sole exception is the pipe organ, which is very large and can only be partially repaired. The pipes themselves are tarnished, and will need to be replaced, which... isn’t _impossible_ , exactly, but it will be time-consuming for the Rito. They do have a smithy, but making the tools to remake the pipes would be difficult.

Bringing the pipe organ out definitely gets the Rito’s attention, though. Half the Village shows up while Link is still re-assembling it, and most of the rest do the same the moment he presses a key.

“It’s a tragedy!” Amali declares. “Such a beautiful instrument in such a poor state!”

Everyone agrees. 

“If you do manage to get this repaired, make sure you tell us!” Amali says. “I would _dearly_ like to hear what it sounds like.”

Everyone agrees.

Link makes a promise.

Gerudo Desert. Vah Naboris.

Link makes a few inquiries, afterwards. Gerudo Town’s smithy is quite a bit larger and more equipped than Rito Village’s, but even so, getting replacement pipes would take at least two months, in the literal best case scenario.

Link, not far from being two months in already, doesn’t have that time. He thanks them anyway, and then goes to the final option.

“It is possible.” Maz Koshia agrees.

“The Koroks managed to get the castle’s _pipe organ_?” Robbie said, incredulously. “How?!”

“There’s twenty two of them in the castle itself.” Link sighs. “And three more on the bridge across the moat.”

“The castle.” Purah repeats. “The one that’s overrun with corrupted Guardians. The one that’s surrounded by a cloud of Malice. The one which has the _Calamity itself_ swirling around it.”

“Korok hide and seek is not for the faint of heart.” Maz Koshia says.

“I still haven’t found them all.” Link says. “I’ve seen seven hundred and ninety six of them.”

Robbie groans, fingers coming up to massage his temple.

“It will only take a small modification to your manipulator.” Maz Koshia continues. “You will need to gather the necessary materials to feed it, but the manipulator can be programmed to restore it.”

Link hands it over to him. Maz Koshia returns an hour later.

Link heads to Eldin, and goes mining. Raw ore appears to count for the manipulator’s purposes, and once he points it at the pipes, it’s able to Ancient Technology away the tarnish. It takes a few hours of sweeping over the pipes to make sure it’s all back in perfect condition, but it’s done.

Link... does not head back to Rito Village, just yet.

Gerudo Highlands. Hebra. Tarrey Town. Shrines.

 _Then_ , he goes back to Rito Village.

Kass is back again, now. He tells Kass’ daughters that the pipe organ is ready, and they immediately run off to tell literally everyone.

The bard is aware of the fact that he’s picked up a lot of instruments, since they constantly met. Link had had a different one on him every time, in fact. “Amali told me about this.” He hums. “Still searching?”

“A lot of past lives to get through.” Link responds, and then pulls out the pipe organ. “Still haven’t found one.”

Kass chuckles. “What’s something you haven’t tried?”

“An accordion.” Link looks at him. “Since it seems like yours is the only one in all of Hyrule.”

Kass laughs. “Let me try out this, and I’ll let you try out that.”

Kass helps him assemble the pipe organ. The other Rito begin to show up not too much longer afterwards. 

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Amali sings. “Such a shiny polish! Such wonderful woodwork!”

It is a pretty thing, now. 

The sounds it makes are _significantly_ more satisfying, now that it’s in perfect condition. The Rito cheer, and just like that, the entire village is set off. Koroks were happy just to hear, but the Rito?

Oh, they had their own skills to add. 

The entire village is _filled_ with the sound of music. It’s an impromptu orchestra, but it somehow works. Link plays and plays and plays, until his fingers are sore and he leaves it to the Rito to take over. Kass gets the first go at it, much to the playful grumbling of some, and he hands over the accordion, as promised.

Link takes it carefully, and...

That’s it, actually. He realises, quite abruptly, that he has _no idea_ what he’s doing with it. His fingers don’t miraculously launch into place, his arms don’t move to fill the instrument with air, and Link smiles widely because _finally_ , two and half months of searching, and he’s found an instrument he doesn’t just know how to use.

Kass makes it look a lot easier than it is. To be fair, Link did the same with the pipe organ. Both of them are notably worse with the other’s instrument. Kass has never used one before, and his large, feathery fingers aren’t a good match to the small keys. Kass works through it quickly, at least. Link himself never manages to get past a few discordant notes.

Elder Kaneli takes the next spot after Kass, claiming age. To Link’s surprise, after a few brief notes, the old owl launches into a song that’s played better than Link himself had managed. Obviously, he’s had experience. 

It’s the most fun Link has had in a while.

It continues well into the night, before darkening clouds start looking a little too threatening. Link is able to get the pipe organ back into his Slate by the time it starts raining, though. It doesn’t stop the Rito, now that they’re in the mood, so Link pulls out an ocarina and keeps going, too.

Link sticks around for several days. Mostly so that everybody who wanted a turn with the pipe organ could have one. Kaneli even ends up teaching Link the song he’d played. The Song of the Dragon’s Roost, apparently.

But, eventually, he leaves. Not too much longer to go, after all, and Link hopes to make _some_ progress on the Koroks.

Maz Koshia calls him soon enough. 

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

“Everything except an accordion, hmm?” She asks, smiling. “You are quite the musician.”

“I have a bit of an advantage over others.” He says. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I don’t think I heard it in entirely the same way you or anybody else did.” She steps forwards, drawing him into a hug. “But it was nice. Took my mind off Calamity, for a little while. I think I would like to hear it in person.”

Link smiles. “Now _that_ , I can do.”

Plateau. Greetings.

The machine that contains the Shadow Crystal has actually _shrunk_ , in defiance of what Link had expected. The cabling that connects it to the larger one is a bit thicker, though, and the energy that flows through seems... more intense.

Day one. Sleep. Breakfast. Haircut. Link flies to Komo Shoreline. The overpass provides nice shade, which Zelda hadn’t had last time. It’s nice and windy, though.

They build the pyre, again, and Zelda happily burns the filthy white dress. Link takes a seat, pulls out a flute, and plays a low, soft tune while the fire crackles.

“Where did you learn that song?” Zelda asks, after a while.

Link shrugs. It’s just what he ended up playing. “Nowhere specific.” He answers. “So, probably a past life thing. Why do you ask?”

Zelda goes quiet, for a moment. Link stops playing, concerned.

“Please keep going.” She says. Link starts up again, and, soon, she starts nodding along. “It reminds me... of the lullaby my mother used to sing to me.”

Oh.

Link doesn’t stop.

After a few minutes, Zelda comes to sit next to him. “It would always send me straight to sleep. I haven’t heard it since I was six.” She said, lowly. She sniffles, slightly, but she smiles. “Father could never get it right. He stopped trying, eventually. It... only hurt the both of us.”

She shifts closer, and Link stills when she rests her head on his shoulder.

She stays silent, for a few minutes, taking a few deep, shuddering breaths. 

“I might end up making you carry me back.” She whispers.

Link chuckles. “You say that like I wasn’t going to do that anyway.”

She gives an exaggerated huff.

But she does almost end up falling asleep on him.

Day two. Maz Koshia. Four hours to complete the calibrations. 

Link wants nothing more to go join the others for the impromptu picnic, but...

“I need to figure out this mask.” He tells Maz Koshia. “This cannot continue.”

The monk nods, severely. “And where do you intend to go?”

Maz Koshia really was sharp. “Lomei Labyrinth.” He answers. “It’s as far away from anybody as I can get.”

“I wish you good fortune.” Maz Koshia bows his head.

Link will need it.

“I’ll be inside the Shrine, there. If I’m not back in four hours...” He sighs. “Come find me.”

Link heads to the surface, finding Zelda and the others.

“I’m not here to join this time.” He says. Zelda raises an eyebrow. “It’s about that.”

Her eyebrows draw together, briefly, before her eyes widen. “ _That_.” She repeats. “Good luck, then.”

Link smiles.

“What’s ‘ _that_ ’?” He hears Purah ask, right before he disintegrates into lines of blue.

Link appears on the Tu Ka’loh shrine platform. He enters it.

There’s nothing inside save for an empty chest, now. No Monk. Nobody nearby to get hurt. The shrine itself should be able to stop the power of the Fierce Deity from leaking out, in case anything happened.

Link pulls out the mask.


	31. Chapter 31

The Fierce Deity Mask, despite everything, is exactly the same as it always has been. Warm in his hands, just as it always has been. The presence inside, patient still.

Its power fills the air, bringing it some ethereal quality. It’s not a blessing. It’s just so powerful that the world around it becomes more sacred merely through its presence.

“I don’t understand you.” Link says. 

Attention settles on him like a physical weight. The presence inside the mask is Great. Even something so simple as the attention it deigns to give holds significance beyond that of something merely mortal.

“I don’t know what you want.” Link swallows. “I don’t know how... something like you could be unknown. I don’t know why we share a face. I don’t...” He sighs. “There’s a lot I don’t know.”

The presence doesn’t change. It simply listens. Link doesn’t think it’s trying to communicate, at least.

“I don’t know what you’re waiting for.” He says. “And that might be the worst part of all this.”

Link had been through... a lot, by this point. Thirty four loops, and only ten of them had lasted less than two months. The very first had been nearly eight, with Link stumbling around so much, unsure of himself, his memories, and everything else. The second had been less long, since he’d already had his memories, and a pretty good idea of the land, but it had easily lasted six. He’d cut more and more time from them after the third, but still...

When it all added up, it was probably eight or nine years, now. Link had lost track of the specifics of it, but that seemed accurate enough.

The Fierce Deity mask had been with him for... sixteen months, now? He’d picked it up in the last month of one loop, and then it had followed him for five more.

It had seen him do a lot, in that time. 

And it hadn’t done _anything_. Link had fought Lynels. Link had fought Hinox. Link had fought Molduga. Link had killed the Blights. Link had battled Calamity itself six times, and the Mask had never tried to intervene. Link was absolutely sure it could, if it wanted to, because being locked inside of a vault had never stopped it from appearing by his side, and he sincerely doubted his Sheikah Slate would do any better in containing it.

But it hadn’t. Not even when time had been about to reset.

And the why... eluded him. What was it waiting for, if not monsters, if not Calamity, if not the time loops?

Link breathes in. “Who are you?” He asks.

The warmth of the mask intensifies, though it still doesn’t cross that line into being hot. The presence reaches out, and 

Li nk

s e e s

_He is tall. He’s larger than any Hylian Link has ever known, actually. White hair, blank white eyes, red and blue markings upon his expressionless face. An armored teal tunic, with a crescent moon on one side of it and a golden triangle on the other. An intimidating figure._

“ **I have no name of my own.** ”

It speaks. Link shivers, hand shooting out to steady himself.

“ **Only the title given to me.** ” 

Link forces himself to breathe. “Fierce Deity.”

Agreement. Wordless, and still felt.

“Alright.” Link says. The Fierce Deity does nothing, simply waiting. “Would you mind... if I asked a few questions?”

“ **No.** ” 

Link opened his mouth, but paused. Quite a few questions to ask. But, which one...

“Have you been waiting for me?” He asks. “Not just a Hero, but me, specifically?”

“ **Yes.** ” The Fierce Deity says.

And there it is. Confirmation of what he’d thought. Link... really doesn’t know what to think about that one.

“Why?” He asks. He needs more information.

“ **There is a task to perform.** ” The Fierce Deity states. “ **We will be the ones to perform it.** ”

Link’s throat went dry. “Task?”

“ **Yes.** ” The Fierce Deity said. “ **It has not appeared yet. You shall know it when it does.** ”

Well, _that_ wasn’t at all ominous.

“Why us?” He asks. “The previous Hero found you, didn’t he?”

“ **He did.** ” The Fierce Deity agrees. “ **But it was not a task, then.** ”

Not a task? When the Fierce Deity had been found, this task hadn’t existed? But it had started existing afterwards?

Link pauses, briefly. “And who was the one that set the task?”

“ **Hylia.** ”

Hylia. The Goddess herself?

“You were found ten thousand years ago.” Link points out.

“ **Yes.** ” The Fierce Deity agrees.

“I didn’t exist, then.” He continues.

“ **No.** ”

“And you still waited specifically for me?” He asks.

“ **You are assuming a degree of linearity to time that does not apply.** ” The Fierce Deity states.

Link opens his mouth, then closes it again. There was a _lot_ to unpack in that. The Goddess of Time foreseeing his existence was not impossible. It had some rather horrifying implications, though, considering both his current status and Hyrule’s current status. “Hylia told you about me?” He asks, trying to work through it.

“ **No.** ” The Fierce Deity denies.

“But you still know me.” Link says, slowly. It’s not a question, and so, the Fierce Deity doesn’t answer. If Hylia hadn’t told him... wait. “Did anybody tell you about me?”

“ **No.** ”

Nobody had told the Fierce Deity about Link, but he’d still been waiting for him? “How did you know about me?”

“ **You are a Hero.** ” The Fierce Deity said. 

This... was going in circles.

Link sighed, reaching up to rub his temples. This was confusing. And he wasn’t sure he was ready to handle it. “What are you?” He asks. 

The world _twists_ , and Link sees-

A kind, honourable man, whose courage and heart earned the favour of Hylia.

A young, courageous knight-to-be, barely old enough to be called an adult, who rides upon a bird with crimson wings.

A Hero, who stands before the forces of darkness, and defeats them so that the people may prosper.

A teenager, seeking to save the land, wielding a sword that makes one being into four.

A series of others, wielding that very same blade, inheriting the same enemies.

A child, too young by far, raised in a forest, and thrown into an adventure that shatters time itself.

A farm hand, twisted by golden twilight into a grey wolf, who loses a friend at the end of it all.

A boy, searching for a stolen sister, riding on a red boat across an ocean.

All these, and so many more. A soldier in the middle of a war. An explorer. A painter. A musician. A conductor. A smith. A jeweler. A farmer. A technician. A scientist. A priest. A magician. Thousands of faces for the countless Heroes that have risen again, and again, and again, and again, to face evil. Some, old and worn. Some, young and bright. Some, boys. Some, men. Some, girls. Some, women. Some, bright stars forever recorded in history. Some, unknown shadows, never identified for their deeds. Some, great adventurers, bringing great ends to great evils. Some, minor but sincere, helping the world flourish with endless kindnesses.

All of them, the same spirit. A spirit that has existed since the first ages of the world, where one man decided to fight to protect his home.

A spirit that had grown, and grown, and grown, until, eventually, it became something... more.

A spirit so powerful, it couldn’t even contain itself. A part of it had fallen loose. A reflection of that original desire; _fight to protect_. To battle evil, for the betterment of others. 

A Deity had formed, from that fragment. Nameless, unknown, and still terribly powerful. 

A Deity that time had not been able to hold onto.

“ **I am the end of Evil.** ”

The vision ends, and Link blinks up at the ceiling. His neck feels a bit stiff.

“Master Link!” Fi says, and Link jerks upwards, rising to a seated position.

He’d fallen over? When...

“Are you alright, Master Link?” Fi floats, closely.

“I’m fine, Fi.” Link groans, twisting his neck. “What happened?”

“You were unresponsive for three hours, master Link.” She says. There’s a note of concern in her voice. 

“Three hours?!” That couldn’t be right, he... He’d only been shown a lot of his past lives, portions of their adventures, some of the things they’d done, and a portion of the Fierce Deity’s own existence. Now that he _thinks_ about that... 

“No, that makes sense.” He sighs, rubbing his temples again. And it put him dangerously close to the time limit he’d given to Maz Koshia. “I saw... I saw a lot of things.” Things that he is going to have to think about.

Link looks to his side. The Fierce Deity Mask is still in his left hand. His fingers are hanging onto it. The presence itself is still offering him some attention, but aside from that, is back to simply waiting.

A Deity that time had not been able to hold onto.

There’s a lot of things he wants to ask, but quite suddenly, he doesn’t have too much time. Nor, for that matter, does he have the energy at the moment.

“One last question.” He says. The Fierce Deity gives him a bit more of its attention. “This task. Will it hurt anybody innocent?”

“ **No.** ” The Fierce Deity states. It’s simple and direct, and the truth of it _resounds_ in the voice.

Because the Fierce Deity was born from the same spirit that Link himself was. Neither of them would let something like that happen.

“Alright.” Link says. “That’s good enough for me.” The attention slides off of him. The Fierce Deity goes back to waiting. The calm patience of someone who _knows_ that all they need to do is wait.

Link puts the Fierce Deity Mask back in his Sheikah Slate. 

Fi still regards him with some worry. He gives her a smile. “I really am fine, Fi.”

Her expression softens a bit, at the reassurance. “If you say, Master Link.”

They head back to the Plateau.

Zelda is tense, but she relaxes significantly when she sees him uninjured. “You took a while.” She says, and there’s a note in her voice that tells him she hadn’t been too far off hunting him down herself. She... _probably_ would have joined Maz Koshia on the trip there, at the very least.

Which, in turn, would have brought everybody else.

“I’m fine.” He says. “Just... a bit of a vision that made me lose track of time. And a confusing conversation.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Did you find what you were looking for, at least?”

“Part of it?” Link sighs. “Yes and no. Things were complicated.”

“Are we going to get an explanation on what ‘ _that_ ’ is?” Purah asks.

“You don’t want to know.” Both he and Zelda say, at the same time.

“You have _met_ me, right?” Purah asks. 

“You do not want to know.” Maz Koshia interceded. “You may trust in that. You will be much happier not knowing.”

“Oh, that bad, huh?” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Zelda asks Link.

He pauses, considering. “I think I could use a second opinion.” He agrees.

Link and Zelda retreat to his quarters. The furniture is as nice as ever.

Link fills Zelda in on what he’d learned that day.

“The Spirit of the Hero managed to form a _Deity_?” Zelda says, shocked. “That’s...”

“Something.” Link finishes.

“How could nobody have _heard_ about this?” She questions, chewing on the nail of her thumb. “And, _when_ did this happen? You’d think the Goddess would at least _tell_ her descendents...”

“I’m not sure...” Link paused, briefly. “I’m not sure it _has_ happened, yet?” He asks. “Temporally? I don’t know how to put it, but the Fierce Deity kind of implied that it time traveled a lot.”

Zelda lets out a disgusted groan. “So it might actually be from the future, and is just here... because.” She leaned back, holding her forehead in her palms. “I hate this.”

“I know the feeling.” Link says.

Zelda gives him a commiserating look. “You keep getting put through too much.” She says, softly.

“It is going to end, Zelda.” He murmurs. “And it has gotten me a lot of good things, too.” His hands briefly brush over the Master Sword’s handle. Fi chimes back. 

Zelda gives him a fond smile. “Maybe you should spend the day relaxing anyway.” She suggests.

Link pulls out an Ocarina. “You don’t need to worry about _that_.”

Link plays music through most of the next few days. Most of it improvised, just going from tune to tune to tune, from instrument to instrument to instrument. Almost everything he has sees some use, except the pipe organ, which is a little too big to fit in the chaos of the shrine that the other Sheikah leave when they’re all here.

But he does get some praise for it, which is nice. Zelda sends him a _look_ when he starts playing the lullaby once it gets closer to midnight and she still doesn’t sleep. He gives her a raised eyebrow right back, because _she’s_ the one who actually wanted to get some good sleep.

Day three.

11:30.

Once more, it ends. A few more months, before he can have all of this again.

12:00:00.

There’s not too much to say about it, this time. It’s a bit more efficient, again. Only by a small amount, but it adds up.

12:20:12

He’s grateful, of course, but there’s only so many ways to describe that it gets easier.

12:40:14

Link elects not to focus on it.

Really, constantly looking at the time is only a distraction. It just lengthens the process, so Link closes his eyes and lets himself breathe.

It’s only when it starts getting really difficult that Link opens his eyes, again.

1:01:15.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”


	32. Chapter 32

Thirty five.

Informing Zelda. 

Shrine door.

“ _One hour mark surpassed, Master Link._ ” Fi congratulates.

Safe. Good.

Maz Koshia.

Korok Forest. Fi. Deku Tree. 

Link asks the Koroks about instruments, again. They hand them over, and it’s good to have them back, even if they are damaged again. They can always be repaired.

And, one day, they won’t have to be.

Hyrule Field. Kakariko.

Maz Koshia, again.

“One hour, done.” Maz Koshia considered. “Quite the achievement, I think.”

Link nods, agreeing with that. “Where to from here?”

Maz Koshia hums. “One final pass on this technology, I think.” He decides. “After that, while further advances are possible, they are again subjected to diminishing returns. It would be more efficient to pursue a new avenue.”

“Tell me if you need anything.” Link says.

Purah, Symin, Robbie, Jerrin. 

Zora’s Domain. Waterblight.

Faron. Necluda. Akkala. 

Goron City. Vah Rudania. Fireblight.

Rito Village. Vah Medoh. Windblight.

Gerudo Town. Vah Naboris. Thunderblight.

Hebra. Gerudo Highlands. Tarrey Town. Shrines. 

Two and a half months.

Koroks. Eight hundred and sixteen.

Maz Koshia, a third time.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

The machine with the Shadow Crystal has gained precisely one additional spike, as far as Link can see. It does not appear to have changed in any other matter aside from that. Curious.

Day one. Breakfast. Haircut. Pyre.

“I think I need to find something else to do.” Link sighs. “I’m getting to the point where I’m just going through the motions again.”

Zelda draws him into a hug. “I’m glad you can recognize that.” She says. “I’m not happy you’re going through it in the first place.” She grumbles. “You need something that can occupy your attention for long periods of time. Something that you won’t be instantly perfect at because of your past lives.” She hums. “Maybe you should try exploring your magic, again?”

Link raises an eyebrow.

“You have a lot of power.” Zelda says. “Good control, too. I think, anyway. I’m not exactly an expert on the matter.”

Link smiles. “Neither am I.”

“My point is... You have magic, but aside from turning into a dragon, all I ever really see you do with it is strengthen things.” She continues. “Which is incredible, really, but... Well, history and fiction are full of tales about wizards and sorcerers. All sorts of things are attributed to them. One can’t help but wonder which tales are just tales and which ones have a grain of truth.”

She did have a point. Link had more power, now, but not too many ways of applying it. “I’m pretty sure a few of my past lives knew a fair bit about it.” He says. And by ‘pretty sure’, he means that he’s _seen_ several of his past lives practicing the art. “But learning more about magic can only help with the whole ‘breaking the Hex’ thing anyway.”

She smiles at him, nodding. “Precisely.”

Day two. Day three.

12:00.

Link closes his eyes and breathes. Minutes pass in every moment. 

1:17:03.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

Thirty six.

Informing Zelda.

Shrine door.

“ _Continuous progress, Master Link._ ”

Fi is safe. Good.

Informing Maz Koshia.

Korok Forest. Fi. Deku Tree.

“What magic can do...” The Deku Tree considers the question. “Pure and true magic is not limited by much of anything. Versatility brings with it its own difficulties, however. When one has many skills, they must practice them all.”

Link thanks him.

“Do you have any idea where I should start, Fi?” Link asks.

“I would suggest learning to project your magic outside of a vessel.” Fi stated. “That will test your will, and provide invaluable experience.”

“Without a vessel...” Link muses.

“For the moment, Master Link I suggest simply concentrating it between your hands and attempting to prevent it from dissipating.” Fi said.

Link tries that. It’s both easier and harder than it sounds. Link has what is, in his opinion, good control over his magic, but this is a first time for him. He can concentrate it, sure, and it looks like little white flecks condensing into a light, but keeping it from dissipating is... somewhat taxing.

But there’s a trick to it. Concentrated magic and nothing else? It wants to dissipate, and Link has to continuously pull it back in.

Give it a _shape_ , though? That changes things. When Link imagines it as a ball rather than a simple point, it sort of tries to stick to that form. It leaks, for lack of better term, but not by much, and Link can pull what leaks out back into it, and that’s a lot less taxing.

At first, there’s not too much he can do with that. The spheres of magic he creates prove to be fragile, at best. They pop like soap bubbles at the slightest touch, releasing a bit of magic that doesn’t do much of anything.

But Link keeps working on it as he and Fi go through Hyrule Field, reclaiming the Guardians as they go. Link tries a lot of different things. More power, less power, larger spheres, smaller spheres. The larger and more powerful ones do last longer, but it only takes casual effort to pop them, to no real effect.

What Link has to do to make them stable is to give them more shape. More _structure_. A sphere? Multiple spheres, nested inside one another. Give them little supports on the inside of the sphere. Weave the magic together, rather than making a solid shape out of it. 

By the time they make it to Kakariko, Link can summon little spheres that might, if he threw them as hard as he possibly could, give a Bokoblin a bruise. 

Progress! Link might be able to make arrows out of magic, if he keeps that up. Imagine the chaos he could raise _then_.

Maz Koshia calls him back after Kakariko again. 

“I am investigating another option now.” Maz Koshia explains. “If I am right, it will be the single largest increase we will likely see.”

Link perks up at that.

“I am still not certain if it will actually work.” Maz Koshia tips his head. “The mathematics behind it are sound, but it may prove less practical than the theory suggests.”

“Don’t get my hopes, then?” Link asked.

“It will function regardless, I believe.” Maz Koshia stated. “The degree of effectivity is what is in question.”

Link nods.

Purah, Symin, Robbie, Jerrin.

By the time he’s made it to Zora’s Domain, he’s progressed beyond just spheres. He can make triangular pyramids and cubes. They’re still fragile, though. He’s slowly getting better at that, but, well, _slowly_.

It takes several weeks, by which time he’s almost finished with Faron, to actually get complex shapes down. Arrows are the first thing he’s able to reliably manifest. The fragility issue... _continues_ , but it’s less noticeable with arrows. A lot of power packed into a strongly structured head leaves them capable of piercing flesh fairly easily. They do have a tendency to dissipate not long afterwards, but that’s fine.

Daggers prove another option. Swords... _work_ , but Link’s strength will typically shatter them on one hit, so he has to constantly rebuild them. Spears, greatswords, and hammers... don’t work. Too much power in making them, too much easily wasted when he has other options. A Sword Beam with the Master Sword using that kind of power works a lot better.

The practice is almost worth more simply in how it grows both his control and his strength. The former improves more than the latter, but it’s noticeable for both.

Goron City. Fireblight _definitely_ does not appreciate his new skill. Now that Link doesn’t even have reach back to his quiver in order to acquire a new arrow?

“ _That’s a new trick, little guy!_ ” Daruk laughs.

Oh, if only Daruk knew...

Once Link is able to reliably make any shape he wants, Fi has him move on to the next part.

 _Moving_ shapes. His constructs have a minimum of bend to them, yes, and that is, in fact, necessary for arrows to actually _fly properly_ , but what Link needs is something more than that. He needs things that can flex and shift, and move.

It is a lot more difficult. Link tries to make a string, and yes, it has some flexibility, but not nearly enough. It takes at least ten centimetres to get a full, circular bend. Everything he’s learned about making strong projections, he has to unlearn, because while they’re good for things that aren’t meant to move much, they don’t work at all for things that are.

At first, that means trading durability for greater flexibility, creating constructs that are...

They’re... basically useless. They’re so floppy they can’t do anything. No strength to them whatsoever. Link can make them float, and a bunch of them together floating at night will spook a few Monsters, but not much else. 

Rito Village and Gerudo Town both pass by as Link tries to mix the two ways he practices things. The result is... dubious. A solid structure surrounded by something soft... doesn’t really do too much. Link gets the idea to try hinges, and while he does eventually figure it out while he’s in the Gerudo Highlands, they take time and far too much effort to be anything more than novelty at his current skill. Things like that mean multiple pieces that all have to be individually shaped, individually maintained, fitted with each other. 

All the experimentation definitely does his control good, though. By the time he’s in Hebra, he can even make some simpler tools, and control them, with a fair amount of precision.

Strangely, this proves most useful when it comes to cooking. Floating ladles, knives, and bowls that he could move independently? _Really_ sped things up. Sure, he had to be careful to not apply too much pressure to the implements, but even if they did snap, they’d just disperse harmlessly. The food was fine.

It definitely made things interesting, when he was out in Hebra. Being able to play his instruments while he cooked the food without even touching it? 

Amazing.

With that kind of ability, he might actually make it through his entire stocks of ingredients!

Maybe.

Shrines. Tarrey Town.

Koroks. Eight hundred and thirty.

He’s slowly finding the rest of them. Only seventy to go. 

Though with the rate he’s finding them now, and the rate at which Maz Koshia keeps prolonging the time loop, he’s honestly curious as to whether he’ll find them all before this is over.

Maz Koshia calls him, again. 

Castle, Ganon, Zelda.

“So you can cook without even using your hands, now.” Zelda smiles at him. “You might actually be able to defeat your appetite.” She teases.

Link gives an exaggerated scoff. “Hyrule would run out of food before the month ended.”

Zelda laughs. Link smiles.

A little easier to breathe, now that she’s back.

Hugs. Plateau. Greetings.

The newest addition to the Shrine of Resurrection is a series of smooth black stone pillars. They’re tall rectangles with rounded edges and lines of blue and orange light marking their surfaces. 

“These are amplifiers.” Maz Koshia explains. “They are tuned specifically for your temporal magic. If everything functions correctly, they should increase the effectivity of your magic, reducing the amount of energy you will need to spend, and in turn lengthening the time you will be able to hold of the end of the loop.”

“You can _do_ something like that?” Link said, surprised.

“It is...” Maz Koshia briefly paused. “Experimental.” He settles on. “I am confident that it will pose no danger, and I am confident that it will function. The degree to which it does is, as I stated before, still in question.”

Link nods, slowly. “That means we’re going to be testing it, aren’t we?”

“Yes.” Maz Koshia agrees. “Tomorrow.”

Day one. Haircut. Link changes things up with the pyre, this time. He doesn’t build one.

What he does is hand Zelda a Flameproof Elixir, and then warp the both of them to the Shora Hah Shrine in Death Mountain. 

Zelda’s face, cast in an ominous red glow by the lava, with a smile that was wide and showed _teeth_ , had honestly been more intimidating than Calamity Ganon itself. The low, slow laugh she made as she tossed the dress into the lava had been... quite something.

Day two. It’s spent like Link had thought it would be. The amplifiers work, and to Link it feels much easier to hold back time. Six hours, all up, which means that Link does get a small picnic with the others.

Day three comes around with its usual unfair speed. Link spends most of it playing an instrument while the glowing white kitchen implements formed from his magic work away at the stoves. He does _not_ manage to make it through his entire supply of ingredients, but he probably could if he had two or three more hours. 

But, the final hour rolls around, and so Link stops.

12:00:00.

The amplifiers still work. Link doesn’t even have to make himself breathe normally, this time. It’s much easier, and Link slips into the state where nothing but the goal matters, letting his eyes close.

How much time is passing, Link isn’t aware of. He’s perfectly fine with that.

But then a loud cracking noise breaks his concentration, and Zelda’s startled exclamation captures his attention. Link jerks, eyes flying open.

One of the amplifiers has shattered. Nobody has been hurt-

But Link’s concentration has been broken. The weight of the Hex’s push suddenly multiplies, and Link pushes back against it as much as he can-

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”

But, too late.

Link stares up at the ceiling.


	33. Chapter 33

Thirty seven.

Well, that happened.

Link flings himself out of the bed. That had _not_ been meant to happen! 

He yanks the Sheikah Slate out of its pedestal, pressing the Fierce Deity Mask to it, and dashes through the door before it has even finished opening.

“ _Link?_ ” Zelda asks, startled.

“Just a minute, Zelda!” He presses the Slate against the pedestal, the door opens-

Chimes. “ _Do not be afraid, Master Link._ ” Fi says. “ _I maintain my memories._ ”

Link just about collapses as the sheer _relief_ hits him.

If he had lost her...

No. Dwelling on _that_ would get him nowhere except into a downwards spiral.

He _had not_ lost her.

Link presses his palm to his chest. His heart is thundering.

“ _I..._ ” Zelda pauses. “ _Link, what is going on?_ ”

“Sorry.” Link breathes. “I have something I need to tell you, Zelda.”

It’s a bit out of order, and Link is a little rattled, but he gets on with things nonetheless.

Zelda is shortly informed. He’s paying her the attention she deserves, but a part of his mind can’t help linger on what had happened.

Unfortunately, the only way to get answers was to wait a week.

Maz Koshia.

Korok Forest. Getting Fi back. If he holds the handle of the Master Sword a bit tighter than he usually does, she doesn’t say anything.

“Do you know how long it was, Fi?” He asks.

“Fifty four minutes and twelve seconds.” She reports.

“That long?” He asks. “It didn’t feel like it.”

Hyrule Field. Kakariko.

Maz Koshia, again. 

“I suppose a failure was inevitable.” Maz Koshia said, lowering the interface. “That was an interesting fail-state, though.”

“What actually happened?” Link asks.

“The amplifier couldn’t handle the stress it was being put through.” Maz Koshia explained. “Or, to be somewhat more accurate, feedback from the constant use of temporal magic created an escalating harmonic resonance that caused microfractures to develop, and ultimately shattered the amplifier.”

Link blinked. “Does that mean we can’t use it?”

“No.” Maz Koshia says. “It just means that I will have to redesign the amplifier so that this ceases to be a problem.” He straightened. “One often learns more from their failures than their successes. This is especially true when it comes to science. From a brief glance at the data, it appears you were using approximately half of the energy you normally do. If it had not shattered, you likely would have likely extended your time four to five times over.”

“Four to five-” Link says, shocked. “ _That much_?”

“Every machine that has been added also increases the efficiency for all related machines.” Maz Koshia states. “Halving your energy requirements doesn’t just mean doubling the time you can continue. It also means increasing the amount of time the Meditation Assistant Devices have to work, for example. With lower exertion, they are also more effective in maintaining your strength. Any of these machines alone would not produce a particularly great effect. All of them together, however, greatly magnify the results.”

Link nodded, slowly. 

“For the sake of safety, I might have to use a lower energy output.” Maz Koshia muses. “Or split the energy load across several units. Or perhaps a number of units that cycle which one is fully active...”

“Four to five times longer.” Link repeats. “If that works fully, then wouldn’t that let me push it back over five hours?”

“Ideally? Yes.” Maz Koshia agreed.

“You said it would take eight hours for it to break?” Link questioned.

“Approximately.”

That much progress... so quickly...

“The end of the Hex is rapidly becoming a practical goal.” Maz Koshia stated. “But we are not quite there yet.”

Link blinked at him, before shaking his head. Maz Koshia was right.

“I shall focus on this for the moment.” Maz Koshia continued. “If I can get it into a useful state, then with the Sword of Six Sages, we should be able to make a true attempt at outlasting the Hex.”

Link swallowed, nodding. “Do you need anything?”

Maz Koshia shook his head. “You are free to do as you wish.”

So much closer. _So much_...

Purah, Symin, Robbie, Jerrin.

Zora’s Domain. Lanayru. Necluda. Faron. Akkala. Goron City. Rito Village. Gerudo Town. Hebra. Gerudo Highlands. Tarrey Town. Shrines

Koroks. Eight hundred and fifty four.

Maz Koshia.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

“You’re doing very well.” Zelda says. Her fingers thread with his own. 

Link smiles back at her.

Hugs. Plateau. 

The amplifier has been _completely_ redesigned. What was originally a rectangular column with curved edges is now a translucent, cloudy purple crystal with flat faces and perfect angles, embedded into a small pedestal that holds it upright. The Sheikah Eye is inscribed onto it, marked white.

“That’s a bit of a change.” Link says.

“This proved to be a more efficient design.” Maz Koshia stated. “It should not suffer the resonance issue feedback of its predecessor.”

“And it looks pretty cool, too!” Purah flicked her fingers. “Robbie is the one who actually worked out the shape.”

Robbie gave a thumbs up. “Maz Koshia did most of the real work.”

Fi materialized, suddenly. Maz Koshia didn’t react, as usual, though Zelda, Purah, and Robbie all had a small one. All three knew of her, but this was the first time they'd met her this loop.

Fi floats over to the amplifier, examining it closely. She circles it, once, and then settles a small distance away from it. 

“Something wrong, Fi?” Link asks.

Fi’s head tilts to the side, slightly. She does not, however, look away. “Did you consult anything when it came to designing this device, scientist Robbie?”

Robbie glances around. “No..? Why?”

“I have seen a similar device before.” Fi pulls back, turning towards Link. “Master Link, please present your Sheikah Slate.”

Link raises an eyebrow, but does as she asks without hesitation.

Fi’s cloak comes up, wrapping around his Sheikah Slate for a moment. The Master Sword glows for a moment, and the screen of the Slate flicks on. It shifts, after a moment, to the album, and two photos appear quickly.

Fi releases the Slate, and Link taps on the picture.

If Link hadn’t known better, he’d say that it was a photo of the device in front of him. But it wasn’t, because the background was completely different, a wide desert showing instead of the inside of the Shrine of Resurrection.

“They’re almost exactly the same.” Zelda said, frowning at it as she looked over his shoulder. “The pedestal is different, and the Sheikah Emblem isn’t stylized, but aside from that... A complete match, in terms of appearance.”

“What is that device, hallowed Spirit?” Maz Koshia asks.

“They were called Timeshift Stones.” Fi states. “They possessed the capacity to manipulate time in an area around them.” Link flicks to the next picture, and...

Well, it’s the same device, but the crystal is now a clear blue colour, and where there was once a desert, there is now water and flourishing plants. A wall of light marks the edge of the effect, beyond which, it goes right back to desert.

“Our version can’t do that.” Robbie hums, considering it. “Right?”

“No.”

“You mentioned those before.” Link remembers. “During the Era of the Sky, right?”

Fi nodded.

“Truly?” Maz Koshia asked. “Such advanced technology in the second oldest Era? This surpasses what even my civilization was capable of.”

“It surpasses your technology in relatively narrow fields.” Fi states. “I did not observe any Runes, or other conveniences offered by your own technology. Storage, transportation, and manipulation were not nearly so capable.”

“Where did it come from?” Robbie asked.

“According to Fi...” Link sighed. “Over history, there’s been a lot of examples of technology that were out of place. There’s also been a lot of items that manipulate time.”

“And here we are, accidentally making devices that almost perfectly resemble the ones from an ancient era, which also happen to mess with time magic.” Purah said, slowly. “While we’re inside of a time loop, to boot.”

Silence fell. Maz Koshia’s head dipped, hat tipping to hide everything. Purah’s head tipped to the side. Robbie’s eyebrows rose, face going through a set of expressions. Symin went blank. Jerrin bit the inside of her cheeks. Zelda’s lips pursed.

“No, I don’t like that.” Zelda said, turning towards the crystal before her eyes flicked back to Link. “I don’t like anything about that. I don’t like the implications of that, nor do I like where the thought leads.”

“Are we... responsible for something bigger, here?” Purah asked.

“I don’t think so.” Link sighed. “Or at least, not directly.”

“It is considerably unlikely that this current group is responsible for something like that.” Fi stated. “Aside from that device, current examples of Ancient Technology do not match the aesthetics of previous examples.”

Zelda breathed a sigh of relief. 

“It is not impossible that the technology pioneered by this group, or other, future, researchers studying the example, to end up being transported in some manner or another to the past, however.”

Zelda’s expression fixed, becoming a bit more brittle. “And on that _lovely_ note, I am in desperate need of a distraction so that I can ignore this, and wow, I need a bath.”

Link can’t help but smile a little. Lovely Zelda.

Link himself, fortunately, was an expert in ignoring things. The year and four months spent ignoring the Fierce Deity Mask had left the skill very practiced, so he put it out of mind at the moment. Not his problem right now.

Day one. Haircut. Link takes her to the caldera of Death Mountain itself, giving her the most potent Heat Resistance elixirs he can make. The dress starts to smoke the moment she takes it out, and bursts into flames long before it hits the lava of the volcano.

Day two is... significantly longer than normal. The others go out, like they usually do, and they get back when they usually do, but Link is still busy. Maz Koshia has him testing the new amplifier for nearly fourteen hours straight. It’s... honestly, it’s fine. Link wants to avoid any more startling failures like the previous one, and fourteen hours aren’t really that much in the grand scheme of things. 

Zelda steadfastly ignores the implications of the amplifier, electing instead to catch up to everything she’s written on her Slate. She questions Link about some things, and is constantly jotting down notes into her Slate. She’s got her own list of data, and a number of points and ideas floating around the Slate.

“If the amplifier isn’t enough, then where do we go from there?” She questions.

“There are not too many more avenues to explore, unfortunately.” Maz Koshia explains. “The Sword of Six Sages is the next readily available item to exploit. The Light magic contained within is opposed to Calamity’s power, and it will cause the Hex to decay faster if it is exposed. Unlike all other machines, however, this one will have no effect on the amount of time Link can hold off the Hex. It only affects how long he has to hold it off for. Other machines will not change that.”

Zelda frowns at the Slate. “Would it be possible for me to help? I should still be able to call up a bit of the Goddess’ power.” She pauses. “I _have_ done that, actually. It’s how Link knew it was a curse in the first place.”

“Theoretically, yes.” Maz Koshia stated. “Practically... That is more dubious. All these machines are designed for Link’s use, and to add Goddess Hylia’s own power into it... I am not sure what the results could be. It might help. It might not. It might distract Link, and end it quicker. You would, furthermore, not have the opportunity to practice, since every time you acted would be your first time from your perspective.”

“An option of last resort, then.” Zelda murmured.

Nothing goes wrong, fortunately, and Maz Koshia is satisfied with the results.

Day three comes around with its typical inevitability. 

The leadup to the night is... a bit worse than usual. Last time’s failure doesn’t seem to want to leave his mind. The others, or at the very lease _Zelda_ , must pick up on some of that, because Purah and Robbie spend the entire time being distracting, and occasionally dragging _him_ into their distractions.

“You’ve _really_ never shown your dragon form to other people?” Purah asks.

“Aside from Fairies, Koroks, Blupees, and the Spirit Dragons, you mean?” He raises an eyebrow.

“They’re _magical_ , they don’t count!” Purah waves her hand. “Just _us_? You’re so restrained! And boring.”

“Purah.” Zelda says, with _that_ tone of voice.

“Oh, come on!” Purah holds her hands up as if to shield herself. “ _Dragon_. That’s cool! That’s _so_ cool! Goddess knows that if _I_ could turn into a magic dragon, no one would be able to stop me from doing so. I’d be a dragon all the time!”

“Right up until you realized how inconvenient life is without hands.” Link says.

“You can literally _summon_ any tool you want!” She points a finger at him. “You could probably just summon magic hands, if you wanted to! Do you have any idea how much research I could do if I had twenty pairs of hands?!”

Summoning magic hands is... not something he’s tried, but he _has_ gotten better at manifesting things, and his dragon from _does_ have better control over magic.

But that’s not the point, here.

“It’d be chaos.” Zelda says.

“And you haven’t even used it as a joke!” Purah ignores her. “Like, honestly, could you _imagine_ the look on Impa’s face if you just... _turned into a dragon_?” Purah laughed. “That’d be hilarious!”

“Her heart is not what it used to be.” He reminds her. “She doesn’t need that.”

Purah pauses, briefly. “Right. When this is over, I need to go make her young again. Just like old times! Except she’d have an identical granddaughter.”

“And regardless, Purah, dragons are gigantic.” Link leans back. “Most people don’t do well when suddenly faced with a giant monster.”

“You’re handsome.” She scoffs. “And fluffy. Be a cryptid for a while, stir up some rumours, and people will be _all_ over that.”

Link lets his head fall back against the couch. He stares up at the roof, praying, briefly, for guidance.

Hylia doesn’t answer. Nor does Zelda.

And, now that he’s thinking about her, she hasn’t said anything for a bit now.

Link turns his head, and pauses. Zelda looks... _contemplative_.

“Zelda.” He says, flatly.

She crosses one leg over the other in a motion that is too casual to not be utterly planned. Her face settles into something carefully impassive. Link, however, knows better. 

“You’re actually considering this.”

“I’m just thinking-” Zelda says, slowly. “- of what expression my father might have if you left the Shrine of Resurrection as a dragon.”

Link groans, shifting his head back again. Why, Purah? “You know I can barely _fit_ through that passage, right?”

“But you _can_ fit.” She says.

“With some magic hands, you could probably even snap a picture of his face.” Purah grins. “Immortalize that for all of time.”

A gleam enters Zelda’s eyes, and _why_? Why was _he_ considering this, now? Link knew the King. Link had read his diary. Link knew exactly what haunted the haunting ghost.

And who was he fooling, with questions like that? _Why_ , he asks, as if he didn’t already know the answer. As if _everybody_ didn’t already know the answer. Zelda.

It would make her happy. It would be, at most, a harmless prank. And the King would endorse it, too, knowing why it had been done.

Link sighs.

Purah lets out a cheer. As if she can somehow _sense_ his thoughts. 

Or maybe she’d been watching Zelda, and had seen the way her face had briefly gotten smug. Link is good at hiding his emotions when he wants. Zelda doesn’t have his practice.

Wait. “It won’t work anyway.” He says. “The Camera Rune isn’t functional until you repair it. I can’t get a picture of his face.”

“The Rune should merely be disabled, rather than actually nonfunctional.” Maz Koshia interjects. “It would be difficult to re-enable without a Guidance Stone, but not impossible.”

He’s not getting out of this, is he. “Would you mind teaching me how?”

Zelda smiles. 

Purah cheers. “Make sure you do the cryptid thing, too.”

“Purah.” He says, with _that_ tone of voice.

11:30.

12:00:00.

Link isn’t entirely sure how easy it is, compared to last time. It’s been three months, after all. Remembering the specifics is difficult. If he was pressed, he’d say that it was about the same. Maybe slightly harder?

Impossible to tell, and pointless to dwell on at the moment, so Link lets his eyes drift shut and focus.

Time is indeterminable. His strength drifts away so slowly that it’s almost hard to actually keep track of. But he does eventually get to that point where he’s fighting for every extra second, and so he takes a look before the Hex steals it all from him again.

5:34:57.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”


	34. Chapter 34

Thirty eight.

Link gets up. Link puts the Fierce Deity Mask away. Link explains things to Zelda. Link spends a few minutes poking and prodding the Sheikah Slate, before it beeps at him to signal the Camera Rune is now working. Link goes to the shrine door. Fi’s chimes resound in his head as she reassures him, again, that she hasn’t lost her memories. 

“ _Final victory ever approaches, Master Link._ ”

Link pauses, before he leaves. Zelda’s words run through his head, and Goddess, he’s actually going to do this. 

Link puts the Slate onto the pedestal, and then turns into a dragon. 

It’s cramped, and uncomfortable, and Link already knows he’s going to hate crawling his way out of here, but he’s going to do it anyway. He focuses for a few seconds, and glowing white mist slowly coalesces together into a pair of shapes in front of him. Structure. Strong on the inside. Bending points. Softer outside.

A pair of hands take shape. They’re crude looking things, seeming as if a child had stuck their hand into the sand and poured white paint into mould, but...

The hands float over to Slate, and pick it up. They don’t shatter into a thousand pieces, and they can actually _lift_ it.

Good enough for Link.

Getting through the corridor is... not fun. He has to pin his wings to his back, crouch-walk with a number of small steps, and hold his body near entirely straight. The broken steps that have collapsed into dirt are thankfully not very difficult. The water and mud along the floor also thankfully doesn’t stick, either.

Link breathes a small sigh of relief at the entrance, and stretches as he leaves. His wings flare wide, and his back arches. The sunlight is pleasantly warm. 

The sound of the King’s lantern hitting the ground reaches his ears, and Link has the Slate take the photos while he turns his head in that direction.

‘Shocked’ is one word for the expression on his face. Dumbstruck would be another, possibly more accurate one. Open mouth, wide eyes, one arm extended into the air, but holding onto nothing because, as already mentioned, the lantern is on the ground.

It’s the first time he’s seen King Rhoam with his draconic senses, but honestly, he’s not that different. Still a mass of teal flames poorly contained in the shape of a man. The lantern has a bit of those same flames in it, but that’s also no different.

Link meets his eyes. The King pauses, briefly, as his eyes narrow, and then widen again. 

“Link?” The word slips from his mouth, quiet enough that he wouldn’t be able to hear it at all if not for his current shape.

Link looks away, and transforms back.

He’s had his fun, now.

Now to actually fill the King in.

“A time loop...” King Rhoam says, lowly. 

Link nods, and he’d probably give more of a reaction, but honestly, he’s had similar conversations more times than he cares to count. It’s getting to the point that he could probably do it in his sleep. He summons a bowl from magic, a knife to go with it, and begins to cut an apple. King Rhoam watches with curiosity.

“This is number thirty eight.” He says. “I’ll apologize for the dragon thing, but it was Zelda’s idea.”

King Rhoam let out a breath. “Do we have this conversation a lot?”

Link pauses, briefly. “You know? We actually don’t. This is the first time I’ve told you about the whole thing.”

King Rhoam raises an eyebrow.

“You didn’t need that weighing on you.” Link says, staring straight back. “Knowing that your daughter is going to be freed, but time is just going to loop, and she’ll be right back there?”

King Rhoam grimaced. “A good point.” He concedes.

Link knows the feeling.

Silence falls between them, for the moment. Link finishes cutting the apple, and then offers a slice to him. King Rhoam looks at it, but shakes his head. “You’re alive.” He says. “I have no need for it.”

Link nods, and quickly eats. “We’re getting close.” Link says. “Five and half hours out of eight, so far.”

King Rhoam nods, slowly. His mind, clearly, isn’t on this conversation right now. His fingers drum on the handle of his lantern. Tap tap tap tap. Tap tap tap tap.

“Is she happy?” He asks.

Link tips his head, considering that. “About as much as she could be, considering the situation, I think.”

The drumming stops. King Rhoam sighs. “My diary-”

“I make sure she gets it.” Link says. “Every time.”

King Rhoam nods, again. He stares straight into the fire.

Link looks at him. “That doesn’t have to be it.” He says, after a moment. 

King Rhoam looks up. 

“You can leave her with something more than just your last regrets.” Link takes the Sheikah Slate from his side, flicking through its menu to open the journal rune. He presses the button for a new entry, and then holds it out for the King. 

King Rhoam takes it, staring at the screen. He swallows. “After so long... I have no idea what to even say.”

Link leans back. “Apologies.” He suggests. “Well-wishes. Acknowledgements. Whatever you write, just make sure you write it as a father, not a King.”

King Rhoam hmms. He raises a finger, letting it hover over the screen, but pauses.

It takes him a few minutes before he actually starts to tap. One finger pressing one key at a time. The King _was_ aware of how to use the Slate, but he’d never even _begun_ to approach the proficiency of anybody who used it regularly, let alone his daughter.

“You are a good man, Link.” King Rhoam says, after he finishes. He hands the Slate over again, and Link refrains from looking at what he’d written. That was for Zelda. 

“You’ve said that to me before.” Link notes. “I should probably get on with things, though.” He says. “The sooner this starts, the sooner we’ll finish.”

“Don’t let me keep you.” King Rhoam gives a slight smile. 

Link stands up. Normally, he’d do the Plateau shrines and get the Runes first, but he’s delayed long enough as it is.

He goes back to the Shrine of Resurrection.

Maz Koshia. By the time he gets back out, the King has retrieved a few items for him. The Warm Doublet, some extra food, and a few weapons. Link thanks him, and then flies to the shrines. Quicker and easier, that way. The King shakes his head, but it’s astonishment more than anything else.

Magnesis. Bombs. Stasis. Cryonis. The King meets him for one final time at the temple, just before he leaves.

“Make sure sure you seek your own happiness, too.” King Rhoam says. 

He’s working on that. 

The King vanishes.

The King took it well, honestly. Maybe, _maybe_ , there’s some merit to Purah’s other suggestion.

Link flies to Korok Forest. He might be there slightly earlier than usual, actually. Fi’s presence is dearly welcomed. The Deku Tree is informed once again, and they go to Hyrule Field for the Guardians, and then Kakariko after that.

Maz Koshia calls him once again, just as he’s leaving.

“That functioned very well.” Maz Koshia muses.

Link nodded. “Slightly more than five and half hours is pretty good in my opinion.” Especially since the longest they’d gotten before that was one hour and seventeen minutes. “Where do we go from here, though?”

“Another upgrade to the amplifier.” Maz Koshia stated. “I should be able to increase the effect a little more. After that, however...” He paused, letting out a considering hum. “I do believe we will have everything we require to make an attempt at outlasting the Hex, after that.”

Link breathed in, slowly, and then out, equally slowly. “Really?”

Maz Koshia nodded. “Not this loop.” He states. “But if it is not the next loop, then it will almost certainly be the one after that.”

They were _this_ close...

“Okay.” Link says. His hand moves up, and he takes a moment to massage his throat, because _wow_ , getting even just that out was difficult. The goal is _in sight_ , now, no longer just a nebulous _soon_. “Okay. That’s good.”

Maz Koshia’s fingers press together. “It does not mean we’re guaranteed to be successful.” He warns.

“But we have a good chance.” Link returns.

“True.” Maz Koshia muses.

Purah, Symin, Robbie, Jerrin.

Zora’s Domain. Vah Ruta.

Lanayru. Naydra.

Link is about to head to Necluda, and get on schedule, but...

Purah’s other suggestion continues to linger in his head. The prospect of his impending escape is helpful to his psychological state, definitely, but still, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep up the whole ‘new experiences’ thing.

And if people got used to the idea of a friendly dragon, then that would make it a _lot_ easier for him to act. The number of times he’s seen a traveller being attacked by monsters while he’s been flying, having to transform back and glide down, instead of just literally swooping in...

Link sighs. There he goes again. Who’s he fooling?

Link makes a plan. 

You couldn’t just... throw it out there, after all. A talking dragon that helped people? No, no. That would be _too_ ridiculous, if it came all at once. The key to a good mystery was laying it out, piece by piece. Don’t just show up one day, start with scattered sightings. Nighttime shadows over the mountains. Flashes of colours in the trees. You have to progress with time, and let the rumours grow. A few people here, some more there.

 _Then_ , you grow a bit more. Far distant shapes in daytime, too strange and too large to be a bird. Those who would be curious enough to find where the shape was coming and going would find destroyed camps of monsters. Rumours keep growing, people get enchanted with the idea. Let’s go see if we can find it, they’ll say.

Keep escalating. The shape flies closer to the ground. More and more monster camps are torn apart. Eventually, the really lucky will get a golden opportunity; find it on the hunt, or perhaps even foraging. They might even see it come down and drink from the river while they’re in hiding, fairly far away. It will leave quickly, of course, but oh, they’ll spread the news. Most won’t believe them at first, but when it keeps happening?

Only after that can it start interacting with people. At first, small things, leaving immediately upon sensing someone. Eventually, though, it can save a person from a monster, and from _there_...

Well.

There you go.

Why does Link know all of this?

Well, he’s accidentally, _accidentally_ , been responsible for several such things before. His habits in earlier time loops were... the stuff of stories. Saving travellers, coming into towns to drop jewels off by the barrel loads, helping people with their problems, only to vanish into thin air, sometimes literally and in full view of a lot of people, not long afterwards? 

Yeah, he usually ended up a pretty recognizable face. Travellers tell stories. Villagers recognize them. Tales form and grow, even if Link had long since stopped doing the _really_ strange stuff, like riding Satori past stables, crossing fields at night on stalhorses, and being a visible one man army who left a path of destruction in his wake.

The last, admittedly, was mostly because he had the Guardians patrolling around and mysteriously destroying monster camps all across Hyrule _for_ him.

So.

Link makes a plan. 

Necluda and Faron are fairly inhabited, both in terms of monsters and in terms of people. Hateno and Lurelin are basically the last two primarily-Hylian towns, after all. They’re not really directly connected to each other, but the beach and ocean provide one travelling method, and there’s plenty of stables around that constantly have travellers passing through.

Travellers that have, by now, noticed the much depleted state of the local monster populations, thanks to the efforts of the Guardians. Travel is becoming more common by the day.

An easy place for a story to begin, he thinks.

Link mixes up his time in Hylian and dragon form. He starts slowly, and then escalates, keeping a finger on the pulse of the rumour mill, which sometimes seemed as though it could travel faster than he does.

They start out, as he expected, cautious. Dark shapes of an unknown monster at night? Scary. As they grow, and he progresses, they shift into a more curious status. Eventually, as he gets sighted more and more often, and people start attributing the lack of monsters to his dragon form, they start getting excited.

Link can’t stay there forever, but he can spend a fair amount of time. Going to each shrine doesn’t take long when he can fly, but he can just go to them at the normal pace while doing other things in the meantime.

By the time he finishes up in Faron, some weeks later, the rumour mill is abuzz with the three sightings of a dragon. One of them even swears to have seen it destroy a monster camp. Link listens on. It’s...

More fun than he was expecting.

He’s never going to tell Purah that, though.

Link goes to Akkala, flying low enough that some people see him head north. There is, for the most part, effectively no monsters actually _left_ anywhere between Lanayru and Faron, and it will stay like that until the next Blood Moon. It’s not too far away, but the Guardians can deplete the local population again after that.

Akkala... isn’t very inhabited, in comparison. Hudson hasn’t even arrived, yet, and won’t for probably another few days. There isn’t too much to do in his dragon form, then, but Link still manages to stage at least one sighting for a traveller to see him dive bomb a Guardian Skywatcher out of sight. Link actually meets her later on, and passes on some rumours from the southern stables in earshot of everyone else. Previously dismissed, his own interjection gets people a bit more curious.

Death Mountain comes afterwards. There is, again, not too much to do. Most Gorons are in the mines, or in the city, and being spotted there would be too much, too quickly for a people that don’t have a whole lot of contact with others. After Vah Rudania is cleansed and stops making it rain molten rocks, maybe...

By the time he’s done there, though, the rumours have spread far and wide. When he gets to Tabantha, everybody has heard at least a bit. Some are tall tales, told for entertainment more than anything else, but that’s how you know things are on track. The Rito can go almost anywhere, and they tend to pick up a lot of information from various wanderers.

Link goes back through Hyrule Field, after Rito Village. He inadvertently ends up making his first rescue in dragon form, here, when one of the travellers is menaced by a Bokoblin. He’s honestly surprised that it’s managed to live that long, considering all the Guardians that ought to be patrolling, but, well...

It doesn’t matter too much. Link swoops in, smashes it into the ground, and then flies off, leaving a shocked traveller in his wake.

Apparently, the stories have managed to make their way even to Gerudo Town. Once Riju figures out who and _who_ he is, she asks if he’s heard the tales. 

“A few.” Is his response.

Riju makes an excited cheer, because dragons are cool, and then gets disappointed, because she probably isn’t going to see it since she’s almost always in Gerudo Town. Sad, but unfortunately right. There’s no need to provoke anything.

Vah Naboris is cleansed the next day, and, for the most part, he doesn’t have to do too much more after that but make the occasional appearance. 

In between going through the shrines around the desert, the Highlands, and Hebra, that’s exactly what he does.

When he eventually makes it back to Kakariko, even Impa makes a comment on it. The Sheikah, of course, make a point of gathering information. The Yiga do too, but, well... There’s never a whole lot of them left once he passes through their hideout.

“I’ve seen it once or twice.” Link says, casually. “It’s a dragon, sure. Not like one of the Spirit Dragons, though.”

“I wonder what it means for such a being to appear...” Impa tips her hat.

Link shrugs.

He gives away nothing. The joke will be absolutely hilarious once he springs it on her.

Finally, there’s nothing to do but go looking for Koroks. 

Eight hundred and eighty five. Thirty one more than last time. Fifteen left to go. Link had already been looking in some pretty odd places, but if he wants to find them all, he’s going to need to step it up.

Maz Koshia calls him, eventually.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

“You are _startlingly_ good at manipulating a rumour mill.” Zelda says. “It’s not something I’d associate with you.”

Link shrugs. “Practice. A bit of past-lives stuff there, too. A good reputation can prevent a lot of unfortunate things.”

Zelda smiles. “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

Hugs. Plateau.

The amplifier crystal is slightly larger, this time around. Not by too much. Just a few centimeters, at most.

“If everything works as intended, this should push the time you can hold it off past the six hour mark.” Maz Koshia explains. “If it does, then on the next loop, I will employ the Sword of Six Sages, and we shall make an attempt to outlast the Hex.”

Link forces his breathing to stay calm. It doesn’t fool Zelda, though.

Day one. Haircut. Link wraps the dress around a Blizzard Rod, which stops it, barely, from bursting into flames in Death Mountain. Zelda tosses it in. It doesn’t make it all the way to the bottom, which is disappointing.

Link shows Zelda the picture he took, at the beginning. It turned out great.King Rhoam’s stunned face makes Zelda laugh, and laugh _loudly_ at that.

Then, he gives his slate, opening the journal note that King Rhoam had left behind. He still hadn’t read it.

It doesn’t take her long to go through it.

Link tenses, slightly, when her eyes moisten, but she smiles as she reads. 

“Is it..?” Link really doesn’t have the words for this. Good? Bad? What she needed?

“It’s enough.” She says, and then throws her arms around him. 

Her eyes brim with tears, but they are not entirely of sadness.

Her smile, though...

It’s something deep and personal. 

“I’m glad.” He whispers.

Zelda rests her forehead against his chest. 

It takes her a while to let go, and he holds her through it all.

“I’ll tell you about it.” She says. “When this is all over.”

Link nods, accepting that.

Day two. More calibration. More stress testing. Maz Koshia seems satisfied with it, and that’s pretty good.

Day three.

12:00:00.

Easier again, though not by much. 

It all adds up, though.

6:04:58.

“ _Wake up, Link._ ”


	35. Chapter 35

Thirty nine. 

More than six hours.

Link feels...

Link doesn’t even _know_ what he’s feeling.

Eagerness? 

Anticipation?

Dread?

It’s all sort of mixed up. ‘This might be the last one’ merges into ‘there might still be more’ and ‘it is almost over’. 

Link gets up. Link puts the Fierce Deity Mask away. Link informs Zelda.

Link opens the Shrine Door. 

“ _Prepare as much as you can, Master Link._ ” Fi chimes. 

Oh, Fi.

That is _exactly_ what he intends to do.

“You have... a feeling to you.” King Rhoam says, slowly. “I can’t place it.”

Neither can Link.

Plateau Shrines. Link, spurred on from last time, encourages him to leave a final set of words for his daughter.

Back to the Shrine of Resurrection, after that. Pry that plate off the pedestal, connect the circuits and make the elevator descend. Maz Koshia takes note of his behaviour.

“We must be quite far along.” The Monk notes.

“This one... may very well be the last one.” Link says.

Maz Koshia presses his fingers together.

Link leaves. He exits the Shrine, and pauses, briefly, at the edge of the cliff. The castle stands in the distance, Calamity swirling around it. 

Link clasps his hands together, and ducks his head in prayer. 

He transforms, and then he flies to Korok Forest. The Master Sword waits in the pedestal, and he pulls it as he always does.

“Do not get complacent, Master Link.” Fi says as she materializes. “We must always move forwards.”

Link nods, taking that to heart.

The Great Deku Tree hums, behind them. 

Link has a conversation. The Koroks involve themselves, shortly afterwards. Link asks them for instruments yet again, and receives them.

Seeing all these Koroks does remind him that he still hasn’t found them all, though.

He goes to Hyrule Field, again. Reclaims the Guardians, again. He’s as thorough as ever, and goes to Kakariko.

“Is something wrong?” Impa asks, after he’s gotten a new set of clothes again.

Link’s head tilts as he considers the question. Wrong...

“No.” He answers. “There is something, but I’ll tell you after this is all over.”

And he might actually get the opportunity to, this time.

Maz Koshia, again.

The Monk sets the Interface down, nodding. “We are ready to make an attempt, I believe.”

Link takes a fortifying breath. “Alright.” He says. “Do I need to do anything special?”

Maz Koshia shakes his head. “Continue as you have.”

Link does. He flies to Hateno, and recruits Purah and Symin. He flies to Akkala, and recruits Robbie and Jerrin. 

Link goes to Zora’s Domain, after that, just like he normally does. Vah Ruta is the same as ever, Waterblight still dies just like ever, and Mipha still gives him that sharp smile when she tells him to pass her words on to Sidon.

A day or two in Zora’s Domain to participate in the celebrations, and then Link heads to Lanayru. Naydra is freed, as always, and by now, Link doesn’t even flinch when the Spirit Dragon declares his unfortunate fate. 

Last time, the ultimate reactions to his dragon form went... pretty well, honestly. Link makes the decision to do it all again this time. He doubts he’d be able to hide it forever, after all, and more to the point, he doesn’t _want_ to hide it forever. Flight is a treat too enjoyable to just give up, after all. Sure, it means he’ll have to put the effort in to build a reputation that won’t have people being scared of him, but... 

It’s worth it.

It starts in Necluda and Faron, just like last time. It grows over time, though it takes a brief break as he heads up to Akkala and Eldin. 

Goron City... has had no reason to change. Vah Rudania is the same, Fireblight is the same, and Daruk still smiles widely at him when he offers to relay his pride to Yunobu.

Tabantha is much the same. Rito Village is still abuzz with rumours by the time he gets there. Vah Medoh and Windblight are unaffected by that, of course. Revali still scoffs, because a hundred years of being dead haven’t improved his social skills.

Gerudo Town, too, is the same. Vah Naboris, Thunderblight... Urbosa still gratefully embarrassed that he’d shared some of the shenanigans she’d gotten up to.

Riju again laments about how she’s unlikely to see the dragon that others are talking about. Link nods, because Gerudo Desert is, unfortunately, not a good place to show up. Lots of wide land with no real cover, and the only two places where people travel have a _lot_ of people, and approaching them would be needlessly provocative. His heart goes out to her, honestly, but sometimes...

Wait.

The Slate had a Camera Rune.

“I might be able to get a picture of it for you.” He says, slowly. 

Riju perks up, momentarily not able to restrain her reaction. “Really?” She grins, before she clears her throat and calms her expression. “I would highly appreciate that.”

Link smiles. It’s hidden under the veil, admittedly, but there’s no mistaking the way his eyes crinkle. Riju seems a little embarrassed. “It might take a while.” He warns.

“Of course.” She leans back.

He comes back four days later. Staging a photo is an... _interesting_ experience. The magical hands he can create cannot, unfortunately, go very far from himself. Simpler constructs can go further, but they also have a tough time controlling the Slate. Link tries for a few hours, but... it doesn’t really work. 

It means that he needs to recruit some actual help.

“Take the photo, Purah!” He calls.

“But the lighting-”

“It’s not meant to look professional, Purah!” He sighs. 

Interesting is one word for it. But there are others...

The wide, unrestrained grin on Riju’s face is worth it, though. The excited little giggling is hilarious, and she swears him to secrecy about it.

Link continues. The Gerudo Highlands, Hebra, Tarrey Town, and the Shrines are the exact same as they’ve always been, but Link makes a point this time of going through them quicker, for one reason.

Koroks. Link is up to eight hundred and eighty five. He’s spent so much time looking for the little creatures that, if this could be the last loop, then he wants to actually finish that once and for all.

It’s...

It’s an adventure. One, three, six, ten, fourteen... He’d finished two weeks earlier than he normally did, and it meant he’d had a month to look. Link ends up flying all across Hyrule, searching for gaps between the markers of his map, going to places that seem almost impossible to get to, looking for any stone formation, statues with offerings, _anything_ he might have missed. 

The very last Korok is on, of all places, the Bridge of Hylia. There’s a tree branch on the platforming of one of its supporting pillars. Link has seen it several times before, and looked over it every time. It is the only Korok that’s decided not to use a rock to hide itself, and Link can’t tell whether that’s because it’s a genius, or just thought it would be funny.

But it is done.

Link goes back to Korok Forest.

“All the forest children returned to Korok Forest!” Hetsu cheers. “You must have had an army of people searching for them, huh?”

Well, it only took slightly less than a decade. “No.” He says. “Just me.”

“NO WAY!” Hetsu shouts. “Fwahahahaha! NAAAAAAAICE~!”

Hetsu seems particularly happy about this.

“Let me give you this!” Hetsu says. The giant Korok hands out a golden shape. Kind of like a Korok seed, but bigger, swirly. It actually kind of looks like...

Like...

Oh.

Link realizes, rather abruptly, precisely what he’s been collecting over the years.

“So?” Hetsu waves his maracas. He’s eager and happy, and either a very good actor, or he has no idea what something like this means to the non-forest folk. “Do you like it?”

Probably the latter.

Link forces a smile onto his face. It’s wooden and painfully fake, but the Koroks have never been good at that kind of thing. “It’s... It’s great.”

Hetsu cheers, again. Link puts Hetsu’s... _gift_ into the Slate, where he will hopefully never have to think about it again.

Then he warps to Eldin, flings himself into the closest hot spring, and scrubs his hands _furiously_.

Zelda... will not be letting him live this one down.

Especially since Maz Koshia’s call comes later that _very same day_. It happens in the afternoon, as it usually does, so Link wastes a few hours baking a cake.

Castle. Ganon. Zelda.

Zelda banishes Calamity with a star of golden light. There’s a brief moment where she pauses before she turns around.

She has the _biggest_ grin on her face.

“Zelda-” He starts.

“You’ve been collecting-”

“Zelda, please-” He’s about to beg.

“Y-you-” Her words are broken by her giggles, which she stands absolutely no chance of containing. “You’ve been collecting-” She can’t even say it.

“Zelda, _please_.”

Zelda breathes in, and then bursts out into uproarious laughter. She laughs so hard that she collapses, clutching her chest, neither the calm and dignified Princess or the intelligent and excitable scientist anywhere to be seen. She’s been replaced entirely with some little gremlin, whose only purpose is to laugh at him.

“It’s not funny.” He grumbles, but he takes a seat beside her and holds her while she laughs regardless.

She sucks in a wheezing gasp of air, and then continues laughing.

It takes quite some time for the little traitor to even begin to slow.

“My ribs-” She convulses with another set of giggles. “Goddess, my ribs hurt.”

She’s still breaking into random fits of giggles even by the time they arrive at the Shrine of Resurrection. The elevator does, thankfully, distract her a bit. Seeing Purah and Robbie also distracts her a bit. Both, unfortunately, are observant Sheikah Scientists, and it’s not like she’s stopped smiling completely.

“What’s got you so happy?” Purah asks.

“Link’s been collecting-” She starts, eagerly.

“No!” He says, throwing his hand over Zelda’s mouth. The rest of her sentence comes out muffled, thankfully. The scientists stare curiously, but Link meets Zelda’s eyes. “Please - _please_ \- don’t tell them.”

Her eyes narrow. There’s a bit of a challenge in her gaze. “Mmonteem.”

Well, if she wants to play like _that_... “If you tell them, I’m not giving you cake.”

She blinks, then stares, weighing whether or not he’d actually go through with his threat. It doesn’t take her too long to come to a decision, and she pushes his hand away. “I guess I can be magnanimous.” She allows, imperiously.

Link breathes a sigh of relief.

“Must be something _terribly_ embarrassing for Link.” Purah begins to grin. “Are you _sure_ we can’t tempt you tell us?”

Zelda briefly looks wistful. “Quite sure.”

There’s one new addition to the normal array of technology, now. The Sword of Six Sages has been placed into a pedestal, but there’s a number of Sheikah devices placed around it. Energy is flowing into it, much like the Twilight Crystal, though the tube at the bottom is pulsating with white light rather than the blue-grey of inverted Twilight.

And there it is. The last of the machines that will, hopefully, cut Link free from the Hex.

Day one. Link gives her a cake. Link cuts her hair. She’s _still_ breaking out into giggles, and Purah is _still_ prying, and now that he’s had the opportunity to sleep on it, he will admit, it _is_ pretty funny. 

“Nearly a _decade_ , I was collecting them.” Link sighed, head in his hands. Purah can barely _breathe_.

He escapes with Zelda an hour or so later, taking her on a flight to Hyrule Field, and somewhat more specifically, Windvane Meadow.

“Here again?” She asks, raising an eyebrow at him. “Is this the next bonfire?”

“Kind of.” He agrees. “Got the dress?”

She grabs her slate, and pulls it out. Link gestures for her to throw it on the ground, which she does.

“There’s no one here, after last night.” He says. “Which means it’s going to be one of the only opportunities for this.”

Zelda tilts her head. Link smiles, and whistles sharply.

The ground rumbles, and Guardians pour out of the surroundings, several hundred of them taking up a loose circle around the area. Skywatchers take a position above.

Zelda looks around, blinking, before realization flashes across her face, and she turns back to him. “Are you actually serious about this?”

“Yes.” He says. “Fi?”

The Master Sword chimes. The Guardians turn, targeting lasers turning on, all of them pointed at the dress, which shines red under all of them.

Fi materializes a moment later. “Everything is prepared, Master Link. Zelda has been added into the list of Commanding Users. All units shall obey her.”

Zelda begins to smile. “I am fairly certain this counts as misuse of Ancient Technology.”

“Do you really care?” He asks, already knowing the answer.

“No.” She says, before turning around and beginning to move away. “Safe distance hasn’t changed?”

“No.” He returns.

“Excellent.” She stops, then looks back at the dress. “Fire.” She commands.

The Guardians hum. Energy builds, light gathering in their eyes. They open fire simultaneously, hundreds of beams lancing out towards the dress.

They hit, and the dress vanishes under a blossoming explosion. Dirt and dust and smoke is kicked up, and Link briefly pulses Revali’s Gale to stop it from getting to them. It is definitely a misuse of Ancient Technology, but...

Zelda is smiling. “That may very well have been the third most satisfying thing I have ever seen.” She says.

“Third?” He asks.

“Well, watching them all shoot Calamity Ganon was definitely a little higher.” She muses. 

“And the other?”

Zelda’s smile widens, but she doesn’t answer.

She just turns back to the crater left by the beams.

“I don’t know how you can do better than that one.” She says, after a moment.

“With any luck, I won’t have to.” He replies. “Because I don’t have any idea, either.”

Day two. Link spends a good portion of it in testing.

“I have given a minor pass in efficiency to all machines.” Maz Koshia states. “It will hold only a small effect, but every advantage that can be grasped should.”

Link nods. “Do you think it will work?”

“I have reasonable confidence.” He states.

Day three.

Link feels... Not _restless_ , exactly, but he’s getting there. Zelda notices, clearly, because she spends most of the day with him constantly asking him things, and just generally doing everything she can to take his mind off of it.

It’s almost a relief when the time actually comes around.

Almost.

“Good luck, Link.” Zelda says. 

He smiles at her.

11:59:59.

The moment of truth.

His eyes close.

The Hex takes hold of time, and begins to push. Link takes hold of time, and pushes back.

It is, indeed, easier. Link breathes calmly, doing his best to match the Hex for exactly as much as it needed, and nothing more. 

Time loses meaning. The moments pass from one to the next to the next to the next. It seems simultaneously an eternity and an instant. Every moment lasts forever, but once they pass, it seems so irrelevant.

Link’s strength drains. Down, down, down.

It starts to get difficult.

But Link hadn’t come this far just to give up.

Time would keep going. 

_Link_ would keep going.

The Hex was going to end.

And Link _would_ be free.

Link opens his eyes.

6:23:04.

Keep going.

6:23:05.

Keep going.

6:23:06.

Keep. Going.

6:23:07.

Keep. _Going._

6:23:08.

Time begins to slip-

 **No**.

_Keep. Going._

6:23:09.

Time slips.

In the wrong direction.

6:23:13.

The amplifier releases a screeching noise, and shatters. Link’s head snaps towards it, surprised, as do the others.

A moment later, Link realizes his mistake, and focuses on time again-

Only to realize that nothing is pushing against him anymore.

He blinks.

Nothing else is pushing against him anymore?

“Link?” Zelda asks, and he looks at her. She seems tired. Why would she be tired?

And she pauses, briefly, as she reads something from his expression. What is his expression?

She sucks in a breath. “Did you do it?”

He blinks, slowly. His power is... exhausted. He doesn’t have anything left to push with. 

But time keeps moving forward.

“You did it!” Zelda jumps to her feet.

Oh. He did it.

“I did it?” He asks. “That’s good.”

Why was Zelda leaning? Wait, no. Everything was leaning, not just her.

“Link?!” She says. Her voice sounds so far away. She sounds concerned. There’s... there’s something about that...

Gravity was meant to pull you down. Why weren’t they falling?

Zelda’s movement turns into a leap. Her arms stretch out and, oh, it’s not the world turning. He’s falling over.

Her mouth moves, but everything is a buzz right now. 

He tries to move his arm, but he can’t. There’s a strange weakness in his muscles. 

Oh. He’s exhausted. That makes sense.

Her arms wrap around his shoulders, and-

_Warm._


	36. Chapter 36

Consciousness crawls back to him with reluctance. 

It’s unusual for him. Normally, when he wakes up, he’s ready to go in seconds at most. Right now, his head feels like it’s full of cotton. 

What had he been doing to leave him like this?

Calm. Take stock. What could he feel?

Fi... the Master Sword is clutched in his left hand. Had he been holding onto her? Not important, at the moment.

He’s warm. Something soft is on him. A blanket? He’d been found by a traveller? Embarrassing.

Sounds... not of nature. Slow beeps and mechanical whirs. Ancient Technology nearby.

He’s lying on his side. His head is resting on something soft. 

Safe, then. Probably.

Link opens his eyes. 

A shock of blond hair and a familiar face greets him. Her eyes are closed, and she’s sideways from his perspective, resting back on a chair just in front of him, but he’d never fail to recognize her.

Zelda.

Clarity hits like a hammer, and the memories of what he’d been doing come back.

Link shoots straight up, sucking in a breath. His arm moves to support himself, and-

And it actually can’t. The moment he puts any weight on it, it trembles, and Link falls back as his strength fails him. Exhaustion hits like Boulder Breaker, and Link is suddenly, abruptly aware of how drained he’s feeling.

His head hits the soft thing, and the fwomping sound it makes both tells him that it’s a pillow, and startles Zelda awake.

She jolts, eyes snapping in the direction of the sound, and they find him.

She breathes in, sharply, and practically flings herself out of her seat. “You’re awake!”

She stops just in front of him, kneeling at the side of his... bed? His bed indeed. Odd to wake up in it feeling not totally refreshed. Zelda seems concerned, though, so...

“Reluctantly.” Is what he tries to say. It would have been a nice little distraction, some humour to communicate that she doesn’t need to worry about him.

Unfortunately, the moment he tries to speak, he breaks out into coughs. His throat is _parched_ , and is _more_ than happy to let on how much it doesn’t appreciate trying to be used. An attempt at reassurance becomes the exact opposite.

Zelda’s face drops into worry, but she reaches to her side. There’s a humming sound and a flicker of blue, before she offers him a bottle.

Link tries to smile, and he thinks he manages it, since she gives one back.

Link tries to sit up, again. It’s... a lot more difficult than it has any right to be. When he moves to support himself with his arm, he finds himself trembling. 

Zelda also notices. She puts the bottle down, then gets up to help him sit up on the edge of the bed.

Goddess, he appreciates her.

The water is cool, refreshing, and may very well be the best drink he’s ever had.

“How are you feeling?” Zelda asks, once he’s finished.

Link swallows, and makes a quick noise to test his throat. “I’ve been better.” He admits. “But I’ll get better, too.”

Zelda gives him a soft smile.

Link smiles back, before he looks to his side. 

The Master Sword is _still_ clutched in his hand. His grip is tight, for all that he can barely feel it.

“You wouldn’t let go.” Zelda says, and he blinks before looking up at her. “Even when we put you to bed, you didn’t let go.”

Link nods. “Fi?” He asks.

Fi materializes by his side, floating just above the bed. “I am well, Master Link.”

Link closes his eyes, relieved. “Good.”

It’s almost difficult to let go of the Master Sword’s handle. Once he does, he can definitely feel how his fingers _ache_. Clenched too tightly for too long. Link flexes them, trying to get feeling back.

“What time is it?” He asks. 

Zelda reaches for her Slate, but Fi speaks up before she can. “Eight thirty three at night.” She states. “You have been unconscious for more than fourteen hours, Master Link.”

“ _Fourteen_?” He asks. He’d slept for fourteen hours, and he still feels _this_ bad?

“That sounds about right.” Zelda briefly yawns. “I’ve been in and out of sleep, myself.”

Link blinks at her. Last night’s - _this morning’s_ \- memories run through his head.

“You stayed up.” He recalls. “How long did you stay up?”

She gives him a look, and it’s not a difficult one for him to read. She’s in a better condition that he is, she believes, and he’s _still_ worrying about her. “Not too long.” She says. “Maz Koshia checked you over, by the way. He said you were fine, you’d just drained yourself and needed to rest and recover. We brought you in here.” She grips his shoulder a bit tighter, for a moment.

“And you stayed?”

“ _I_ was worried.” She states. “The last time I saw you collapse like that was-” She pauses, briefly, eyes drifting... somewhere behind him. “- was...”

Link reaches up, grabbing her hand. Zelda blinks, and she looks back at him. “A hundred years ago.”

She grimaces. “A hundred years ago.” She echoes.

He squeezes her hand, and Zelda squeezes back. It’s not a good memory for either of them, but... “That was a hundred years ago.” He repeats. “This is now. I’m still with you.”

Zelda’s lips curl, even as her eyes begin to glisten. She closes her eyes, and takes in a deep breath, holding it for several seconds, before letting it out slowly. “And I am still with _you_.” She says, voice steady. “Though it took _far_ too much effort.”

Link groans, and lets himself fall backwards. “Goddess, it did. All that, and here I am, ready to sleep for a week.”

Zelda snorts, giggling. “Right?!” She asks. “I know precisely how that feels.”

Link pats the bed next to him. Zelda tilts her head, before smiling and letting herself fall back. Link bounces a little as she lands.

“That’s much more comfortable than the seat.” She says. 

“You didn’t have to take the seat.” He says. 

Zelda scoffs, but she’s cut off from answering when another fwomp comes from his other side. Link turns his head, only to find that Fi had joined them in crashing back onto the bed.

Link raises an eyebrow.

“It is comfortable.” Fi says, expression not changing at all.

Link’s smile turns into a grin. He snorts, and then breaks into laughter.

“Why is that funny?!” He asks, between breaths, as he curls up, clutching his stomach.

Zelda giggles. 

Maybe it’s because it’s Fi. Maybe it’s because he’s tired, sore, and that little bit of humour hits harder than it otherwise might.

Whatever the reason, it takes Link a minute to calm down.

Lying on the bed is... nice. Simple, calm, easy. Link finds himself beginning to drift off already.

“Master Link.” Fi spoke up. Her voice is a little apologetic. “You should eat before you go back to sleep.” 

Fi’s right. She usually is, so Link, no matter how much he just wants to sleep, drags himself upright. His arms still shake, but he can at least hold himself, now.

Zelda is a bit slower, but she does the same.

His Sheikah Slate is on the stand next to the bed. Link has prepared a lot of small snacks over time, because that’s what he has a tendency to eat when he’s out and about. 

He doesn’t want to eat them in bed, though.

Link eyes the floor. Standing up might be another problem. But... the Master Sword is in its sheath, and Link reaches over to grab it.

Getting up _is_ a challenge. Every muscle in his body is complaining loudly in a way that he’s not sure has ever happened before. Link does have to use the Master Sword as an impromptu cane, but he’s able to stop himself from falling over. “Sorry, Fi.”

“I was created to support you, Master Link.” Fi responds. “While this is more literal than typical, I do not mind.”

Zelda offers a hand, and Link takes it.

To the door they go. 

“Odd to be on this side of things.” She says, half-smiling. 

“Normally, it’s me giving you a lift.” Link agrees.

The door from his living room/kitchen to the rest of the shrine is still closed. It’s... fine, actually. Link doesn’t have the energy to do much of anything else at the moment.

So he just falls into his seat.

“Have you eaten?” He remembers to ask.

“Yes.” Zelda says. “But I won’t say no to more.”

Good.

Link pulls out the small meals that he has. Things that are filling, that don’t require too much energy or concentration to eat. 

Link honestly doesn’t remember the meal. One moment he’s preparing to eat, and the next, he’s done. His Slate says that at least twenty minutes have passed, though.

Exhaustion is beginning to wear him down. Zelda encourages him to the bed, though Fi directs him to freshen up in the bathroom first. 

Then, Link is back in the bed. His Sheikah Slate is on the nightstand again, and the Master Sword is also leaning against it. 

Zelda sits back on the chair.

Link blinks at her. His vision is blurry, by now, but...

“You’re staying?” He asks.

“Yes.” Zelda nods.

“You don’t have to.” He says, slowly.

Zelda gives a short laugh. “I want to. It makes me feel quite a bit better to keep an eye on you while you’re recovering.”

“Isn’t the chair uncomfortable?” He frowns.

“I said the bed was better.” Zelda smiles indulgently. “Now go to sleep, Link.”

“Okay.” He says.

His head touches the pillow, and-

Something drags him back to waking, a long instant later. Link is bleary, and something is _wrong_.

He opens his eyes, pushing himself up. Zelda is asleep in the chair, leaning back calmly. She’s alright.

What’s _wrong_ , then?

He can feel light, the Goddess’ warmth beneath Zelda’s skin. The Master Sword pulsates softly, Fi’s presence quiet and calm. His magic is flowing through him, a little sluggish, but fine aside from that.

Link shifts, crawling across the bed. He takes the Master Sword in one hand, and grabs his Sheikah Slate in the other. It beeps as he presses its screen.

11:59:55.

His breath catches in his throat.

11:59:56.

Nearly midnight.

11:59:57.

So close to midnight!

11:59:58.

Link grips the Master Sword tightly, preparing to fight back.

11:59:59.

And-

12:00:00.

And nothing happens.

12:00:01.

12:00:02.

12:00:03.

Link stares at the clock as it continues, counting the seconds onwards. The Hex hadn’t tried to steal it all from him again.

“Link.”

He jerks his head up.

Zelda is looking up at him. There’s a sad look on her face. Her eyes flick over him, before she gets up, moving to sit next to him.

“It’s gone, Link.” She says. She reaches out, placing her hand over his.

His skin is shining with white light, he now notices. The Master Sword has flecks of white coming from its handle, a few of them crawling across the sheath. 

Link forces himself to breathe. The white light recedes as he calms his magic.

Zelda gently took the Sheikah Slate from him, putting it back onto the stand. Link puts the Master Sword back to its resting position himself.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t think this might happen.” She says, quietly. “Trauma is not moved past the moment the source is gone, and this has been your life for nearly a decade.”

“It might be a full decade.” Link says, forcing himself to take steady, regular breaths. “I did lose track.”

Zelda doesn’t smile. She simply looks a little sadder. Link had only said it to distract himself, anyway.

“Sorry.” Link sighs. “You don’t need this.”

“My trauma doesn’t diminish yours, and yours doesn’t diminish mine.” She says, softly, but with a core of steel. “We both suffered. Probably the only reason we aren’t having nightmares is because these beds don’t let us dream.”

She’s right. She always is. So Link nods, and holds his arm up. “Ancient technology sure is convenient.”

Zelda’s lips quirk, and she takes the invitation, sliding closer to wrap her arms around him. She leans on his shoulder, resting her head against him, while Link holds her.

Silence is calm and beautiful. 

Link smiles down at her, and finds his eyes drifting to the chair. Zelda’s words turn in his mind.

Link stops smiling. “You haven’t been sleeping in a bed.”

Zelda stills, tensing. He can feel her reaction all too easily with how closely she’s holding him.

She doesn’t move, and Link sighs, shifting around before putting a finger under her chin and tilting her face up.

In the lower light of the bedroom, it’s hard to see, but now that Link is really focusing, it’s all too easy to see the bags under her eyes, the pallid colour of her face, the haunted look that she’s tried so hard to hide from him.

“Zelda.” He sighs.

“I was _worried_!” She lets go of him. Her eyes practically glow with the force of her emotions. She _needs_ him to understand. “I couldn’t- I couldn’t bear to see you like that. I had to make sure-”

Link reaches out, cupping her face. Zelda pauses, staring at him with... _something_.

“I know.” He says. “I used to watch over you, too, before this shrine. I forgot...” He pauses, closing his eyes and taking a breath. He opens them again, giving her the most intense stare he can muster. “But the last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself trying to take care of me.”

The fight leaves her in an instant. Zelda opens her mouth, closes it, and then slumps. Her hand comes up to cover his, but she doesn’t move it away. Her head dips forwards, eyes closing. 

“Goddess.” She whispers. “We’re both wrecks, aren’t we?”

“Yes.” He agrees. “But at least we can handle it together, now.”

Together.

And.

And now, and now, _and now_ , it hits him.

“I’m free.” He says.

“You’re free.” She smiles.

He’s free.

Link breathes out, slowly. 

Something wet slides down his cheek. 

“You’re free.” He whispers. 

“I’m free.” Zelda agrees.

She’s free.

“ _We’re free_.”

“Yes, Link.” Zelda says. “We’re free.”

They. Are both. Finally.

 _Free_.

Link sobs. Tears run down his face, but he is just.

So.

Happy.

Arms wrap around him again, and Link looks down to see Zelda’s smiling face. He doesn’t waste a moment in throwing his arms around her, holding her tightly.

Free.

Free.

Free.

Link has no idea how long the two of them stay like that. Too long? Not long enough? Both, neither... It lasts as long as it needs to.

But exhaustion creeps up again, eventually. 

“It’s late.” Link says. 

“It is.” She agrees. “Are you going to go to sleep?”

“I don’t think I could stay awake too much longer even if I tried.” He admits.

Zelda hums, at that. “Alright.” She shifts backwards, moving across the bed. Link looks at her, confused, when she grabs the blanket and moves it to the side.

“What are you doing?” He asks.

“ _I_ -” She starts. “- will not be leaving you alone, tonight. I will be staying precisely where I can keep an eye on you. _You_ won’t let me sleep in the chair. This is a conundrum that, fortunately, has an easy solution.”

He blinks at her.

She points at the pillow. “Lay down.”

He does, slowly, keeping his eyes on her. She smiles. Her smile shows teeth, and Link has a moment, just a moment, to be concerned.

Too late, though, because then she lays down next to him, flicking the blanket over the both of them.

Link stills, as she shifts his arm, and settles into the crook of his shoulder. Her breath is hot on his neck and sends a shiver down his spine. “What?”

“I’m sleeping in your bed.” He can _hear_ the laughter in her voice.

He opens his mouth.

“Yes, I’m sure, and no, this is not changing.” She interrupts before he can even say anything. 

Link closes his mouth, slowly. 

There’s a _lot_ to be said about this situation. Propriety, her rank and his, she’s the Princess, he’s the Hero, and a thousand other little but very important details.

“Good night, Link.” Zelda says.

“Good night, Zelda.” He lets his head fall back.

But Link is tired, Zelda has made up her mind, and you know what?

It can all wait until tomorrow.

For now, Link is just going to enjoy the moment.


	37. Chapter 37

Link wakes up, slowly. 

There’s a weight on his arm, a warmth against his side, and the sleeve of his shirt feels damp, for some reason.

Link opens his eyes and turns his head.

A head of golden hair greets him, and it takes him a moment to comprehend that. 

Last night’s memories flick through his mind again, and Link turns to face the ceiling. 

Oh. 

Right.

That actually happened.

This is actually still happening.

Link looks back down.

Zelda continues to breathe steadily, tucked into his side. She’s curled up against him tightly, one arm over his chest, and the other...

Link shifts his head, slightly. His hair catches on her fingers. 

Hmm.

Link... does not have a whole lot of mobility, here. There’s nowhere for him to go without disturbing her.

It’s a nice feeling, at least. 

Though he still doesn’t know why his sleeve feels damp.

Link twists his neck, trying to look down at it, but Zelda’s head is in the way, and he can’t move far enough to see without moving _her_.

Link pauses, looking to his right. His Sheikah Slate is still on the stand, out of reach, but that’s not a big problem. Link concentrates for a moment, and a hand materializes, which picks up the Slate and brings it to him.

Link pauses before he activates it, eyeing Zelda for a moment. He presses the Slate against the bed, and then activates it, the chiming sound thankfully muffled.

Link activates the Camera Rune, then angles the Slate and takes a picture. It makes another sound, and Link briefly winces, but Zelda, fortunately, doesn’t wake.

Link looks at the picture.

Oh.

Well, that makes sense.

Zelda is drooling on him.

Link blinks at the Slate, then puts it down, carefully. A grin stretches across his face, and despite his best efforts, he can’t suppress the mirth that bubbles up.

It’s not loud, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is that his chest starts shaking.

“Wha?” Zelda startles. She rises, blearily, pausing briefly when her hand comes to rest on his chest.

Link tries, desperately, to suppress his amusement, but it’s too little, too late. Zelda rubs her eyes, looking down at him. “What are you laughing at?”

Link begins to snicker. 

Zelda frowns at him, before her eyes flick to the side. She spots the Sheikah Slate, and snatches it up, leaning back. 

Zelda flicks the slate on. Her eyes narrow from its light, but then shoot wide.

Her arm comes up, and she touches at the side of her mouth where the drool _still_ lingers. Red crawls up her cheeks and across her neck, and Link can’t help but break into laughter.

Zelda lets out an anguished noise, and flops back, hands covering her face. “Goddess, why?!”

She is _mortified_. Link laughs at her. 

Without looking, Zelda grabs a pillow, and shoves it onto his face. “This was a nice moment!” She says, pulling the pillow back before shoving it in his face again. “And now it’s ruined!”

Link grabs the pillow, and pushes it to the side. “It’s fine.” He grins. “It’s adorable!”

Zelda lets out a whine, and pulls the blanket over her head. Her words are a bit muffled. “There it goes.” She says. “My dignity. Rest in _pieces_.”

That sends Link into another peal of laughter. He gasps for air, rolling over-

And then yelping as he rolls right off the edge of the bed. He hits the ground with a thump, though it doesn’t hurt.

He puts his hands beneath him, standing up- and then he has to take a step backwards to steady himself.

“Are you alright?” Zelda asks. She’s concerned, serious now. The flush still there, but receding.

“Better than yesterday.” He says, stretching. “Still a bit wobbly.” He pauses, looking back at her. “Have a nice sleep?”

Zelda’s eyebrows flash upwards. “Honestly? Yes.” She shifts, pushing the blanket off of her. “That was, in fact, quite literally the best sleep I’ve had. Those first three days were fine, with how I didn’t dream, but...” She pauses, sighing. Her next words are quieter. “I felt safe.” She admits. 

Link shifts, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Zelda gets up in turn, sliding over next to him. “You didn’t before?” He asks.

Zelda opens her mouth, then closes it, as she considers the question. Her head tilts to one side, and then to the other. “I didn’t feel... _un_ safe.” She settles on. “But I was always probably too grateful for going to bed, and just being able to fall asleep and wake up instantly. Calamity...” She pauses, again. “Calamity didn’t let me put my guard down. I didn’t really... _rest_.”

“And now that you can sleep, you have trouble bringing yourself to, because of one hundred years spent fighting.” Link stated. “Because you couldn’t let your guard down, couldn’t _stop_ , without allowing others to be hurt.”

Zelda nods, slowly. “Exactly so.” She turns away, and Link reaches up to take hold of her shoulder. “Falling asleep instantly... doesn’t give me any time to worry about it.” She says. “This time, though... Your presence was... a constant reminder that Calamity is gone. That I didn’t _need_ to worry about it. You were you, I was me, and everything was alright.” She turned back, and leaned in. 

Link opened his arms and embraced her. “You felt safe.”

“I felt safe.” She repeats. Her head tips, slightly, and he hears her hum. “It was similar for you, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Link says. “You were... here. Present. Holding onto me.” He looks up. “Which made it... immediately obvious... that I wasn’t up there, again.”

Zelda nods. “I’m going to have to avoid saying those words, aren’t I?”

Link looks down, blinking, before realizing what she’d meant. “I could go a good long time without hearing ‘wake up, Link’ again.” He grimaces. “Every time, those words were...” He sighs. “You know.”

“Mmm.” Zelda pulls back. “I do.”

Silence fell, for a short while. 

“Would you mind...” Zelda starts, before pausing. She takes a deep, fortifying breath, as Link looks back at her. “Would you mind if we continued this arrangement?” She said, all at once and a little quickly.

Link raised an eyebrow at her. “Sleeping in the same bed?” He asks.

A light dusting of red went across her cheeks. “Yes.” Zelda nods, regardless. “It was... nice. I’d like to keep doing it.”

There is... a _whole_ lot of things to unpack, there.

“I understand if you don’t want to, of course.” Zelda says, after a moment, hurriedly. “It is a bit of a selfish request-”

“Zelda.” He interrupts, and she goes silent. “I also found it nice.”

Her blush strengthens, but she doesn’t look away.

“But, are you _sure_?” He asks. “There’s... things like rank, propriety-”

“And all of that can be damned.” Zelda says, strongly. “I fought Calamity for a hundred years, you were trapped in a time loop, and we _both_ deserve to be happy.” Her hands clenched. “Who cares what anybody else thinks?”

Link raises his eyebrow again. “You _are_ the Princess.”

“Of a queendom that has been defunct for a hundred years.” She scoffs. “And even if that _weren’t_ the case, _you_ are the Hero. You saved the world. Your status isn’t lower than my own, you know.”

Link raises a finger, then lowers it. She isn’t _wrong_.

“So yes, Link.” She nods. “I am absolutely certain.” She stares at him. “If you would accept.” She adds, after a bit.

Link closes his eyes, lowering his head. He can feel a smile begin to stretch across his face. “Well.” He says. “I suppose there’s nothing wrong with being selfish, once in a while.”

He opens his eyes, looking up. Zelda has a triumphant grin on her face.

It’s a grin that’s immediately rendered painfully fake when a grumbling growl fills the room.

Link raises an eyebrow. Red begins to crawl up her face. 

Link carefully does not smile. “Would you like breakfast?”

Zelda leans back, grabs a pillow, and buries her face in it. A muffled scream reaches his ears. After a few seconds, she put it down, face cast into a grateful smile. “Please.”

Link gets up again, and holds out a hand for Zelda to take. “We should probably check in with the others, too.” Link says. “Make sure they know we’re still alive.” He grabs his Slate, switching it on. “Especially because it’s _ten thirty_.” 

Zelda mumbles a few words of agreement.

Link pulls open the door to his living room, then pauses. “Eating first, or talking?”

Zelda sighs. “May as well get both out of the way.”

Link pulls open the door to the greater Shrine.

“You’re alive!” Purah calls, immediately, knee-deep in Ancient Technology. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’ve been better.” Link says. 

Purah nods, grinning. “And how’s it feel to be free?”

Link can’t help but grin back. “ _Exhilarating_.”

Breakfast is... belated.

The Sheikah all offer their congratulations. Purah is particularly happy.

“TRIP is officially dissolved~” She cheers. “Which means that we are once and for all, the Nerd Squad!”

Link snorts.

Link finds Maz Koshia not long afterwards, meditating upon his pedestal like usual. There’s an aura of satisfaction around him. A feeling of a job well done.

Maz Koshia looks up as he approaches. “Courageous Hero.” He addresses.

Link stops eight paces in front of him, and without a word, dips into a low bow, arms crossing over his chest, hands to the side splayed widely and visibly. A Sheikah gesture.

“There is no need for such thanks.” Maz Koshia states.

“I feel that it is well deserved.” Link disagrees. He keeps his bow, but looks up to Maz Koshia. “You have provided me with sanctuary, with assistance, and with knowledge. You have helped me more than I can repay.”

“I need no repayment.” Maz Koshia shifts, crossing his legs and leaving his hands clasped in his lap. “You have provided me a challenge I was most eager to meet.” His head shifts upwards for a moment, as he looks past Link. “And you have brought to me students eager to learn. I refuse any debt from you, friend.”

Link closes his eyes, and lets out a breath of air. Somehow... he isn’t surprised. He straightens up, and offers a smile. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.” Maz Koshia returns. “You should be resting, Courageous Hero. Go and relax.”

Link rejoins the others.

“So.” Purah kicks her feet up onto the table, leaning back into her chair. “Now what?”

“I have no idea.” Link smiles widely. “This is the first time I’ve had an afterwards. I didn’t really make a lot of plans.”

“Oh, there’s a few things I can think of.” Zelda says, tapping at her Slate. “You need to recover, for one.” She points at Link. “And at some point... according to my Slate, Calamity was sealed underneath the castle?”

“Somewhere, apparently.” Link agrees. “Maz Koshia thinks it will be difficult to get to, but we can do that, now.”

“That’s a long term goal.” Zelda says, head tilting to the side. “What do we need to do in the short term?”

“Short term?” Link asked. “Impa, soonish. We’re five days in, and haven’t shown up yet, so it’s only a matter of time she sends out search parties or something.” 

“I need to make Impa young again, too.” Purah hums.

“At some point, we’ll have to deal with Purah having invented eternal youth.” Link continues.

“It’s not _eternal_ -”

“After that, since Calamity is gone, we might want to actually go around and _tell people_ that.” Link ignores her. “Though it’s probably gotten pretty far by now, since Calamity isn’t literally surrounding the castle in an aura of Malice anymore, coupled with the whole ‘Divine Beasts turned night into day when they fired’ and the ‘you made a giant golden sun that ate Calamity’ things.”

“Lovely way of putting it.” Zelda muses.

“I think it’s fun.” Link nods. “The... probably the best way to do that is to go to all the towns and inform the leaders.” He tilts his head back. “It would probably be better to do that sooner, rather than later.”

Zelda nods. “Impa first, then everyone else?” She murmurs. “That sounds like a plan.”

Link nods, again.

“Are you up for it today?” Zelda looks up at him. “You _are_ still meant to be recovering.”

Link opened his mouth, then closed it, considering. He was fine, at the moment, but he also hadn’t done very much, and going to meet Impa would be... more. 

A lot more. 

Because the time loops were over, now, and Link had promised to explain. That was going to be a long, difficult conversation. Did he have the strength for it now, when he was still unsteady on his feet?

“Tomorrow.” He says. 

Tomorrow, he’d be much better off.

“Alright.” Zelda says. “Tomorrow.”

“Make sure you get plenty of rest!” Purah calls.

It’s not bad advice, so Link follows it. He pauses, just before he opens the door, and then deliberately and carefully sets the Master Sword against the wall. Let Fi do as she wishes.

Link takes a quick shower, and then goes to bed.

The sound of a light thump draws him from his sleep. Link opens his eyes, looking towards the source, and finds Zelda there, shoulders drawn up in a wince at the door.

She breathes out, quietly, and turns around slowly. Her eyes meet his, and she freezes before slumping. “I was trying not to wake you.”

“The fact that you managed to open the door without waking me is impressive enough.” He says. “But you wouldn’t have gotten too much further either way.”

He grabs the blanket, drawing it sideways, and leaving the position for her.

Zelda gives a brief chuckle, stopping at the base of the bed to take her shoes off, before moving on. She settles in place next to him, curling against his side and throwing her arm over him.

“Good night, Link.” She says.

“Good night, Zelda.” He responds.

He closes his eyes again.

A vague feeling of wrongness draws him back to the waking world, again. The familiarity of last time runs through him, and he frowns. He concentrates for a moment, and a glowing hand retrieves his Slate again. He presses it against the bed to muffle the noise of its activation, and then looks at the clock.

11:59:45.

Link stares at it. The seconds tick up, and up, and up.

11:59:57.

11:59:58.

11:59:59.

He can’t help but tense.

12:00:00.

But nothing happens.

12:00:01.

12:00:02.

12:00:03.

Link sighs, putting the Slate down.

Movement at his side has him turning to find Zelda’s green eyes staring at him.

“Sorry.” He says. 

Zelda straightens up, pushing herself up from the bed. She gives a slight yawn. “Don’t be.” She says. “You’re not to blame.”

Link sighs, and lets his head fall back.

But all of a sudden, he isn’t sleepy. He’s still _tired_ , but he’s somehow restless at the same time.

“Maybe you should get some fresh air.” Zelda says.

Link blinks, tilting his head to look at her.

Fresh air... 

The air of the Shrine wasn’t bad by any means, but... something more wild wouldn’t be amiss.

“Good idea.” He says. 

He shifts, sliding to the side, and standing up. He’s definitely feeling a _lot_ better, now.

The sound of shifting blankets has him looking back. Zelda is on the edge of the bed, putting her boots back on. She stands up, and then raises an eyebrow at him.

“If you’re sure.” He says.

Nobody else, it seems, is awake. Maz Koshia probably is, but he’s meditating again, so he doesn’t count.

Link picks up the Master Sword and swings it onto his back. He and Zelda go to the Shrine elevator, and activate it.

A small corridor. Link helps Zelda up the rock wall, and then climbs it himself. He steps out into the night, and the air is cool and _crisp_.

Link breathes in, deeply. Dirt. Grass. Trees. Wind in his hair, flicking it to the side. Nature. The wilds.

“This might have been a bad idea.” He says. Zelda gives him a concerned look, but he continues. “Now I’m feeling energized.”

She scoffs. 

He’s glad to be out here, again.

Link takes another deep breath. Dew. Animals. Leaves.

Something... faint, in the air. 

Link frowns. 

Something that didn’t belong.

“Link?” Zelda asked.

“Just a moment.” He says. 

White flecks burst from his skin, and Link transforms into a dragon.

What was previously a faint smell is now all too obvious. 

Link’s head snaps in the direction of Passeri Greenbelt.

Zelda gives a sudden, sharp gasp, and her head does the same. 

There’s a flash, a column of pink black bursts from the ground, piercing into the air. Link’s lips draw back into a snarl at the sight of it, a growl building in his throat.

All too familiar. 

All too hated.

The stench of Malice fills the air.


	38. Chapter 38

“ _How?!_ ” Zelda shouts. “Calamity was _sealed_!”

Link’s eyes narrow, as the beam dissipates. Smoke and dust and Malice obscure the air, but his sight can still make out more of the evil, seeping from the ground.

“How?” She asks, voice quiet and tinged with... _fear_.

“It doesn’t matter.” Link says. His voice is calm, for all that hatred that is now burning in his chest. “Whatever this is, we’re going to kill it.”

Zelda’s head turns, briefly. She’s surprised at his words, but a moment later, her expression hardens. She nods.

Link transforms back, white bursting off of him, because as much as he’d like to just fly there, the _quickest_ way there is not that way. 

Link grabs his Slate, holding it out to Zelda. She takes hold, and then Link touches the icon for the Hyrule Field Tower.

A brief, timeless moment, where they both disintegrate, and then, they’re reforming on top of the Tower. This close, he can literally _taste_ the Malice in the air.

The dust and dirt is equally present. Link scowls, reaching for Revali’s Gale and flicking his hand. 

A wind sweeps through the area only a moment later, catching the dirt and dust and blowing it away. 

The world is still tinged with a malevolent glow. Link turns, tracing it to the source.

There’s a hole, now, in Passeri Greenbelt. Tendrils of Malice emerge from it, sweeping through the air, and Link can’t help but think it looks like a mouth that leads straight to the Dark World. 

“How do we get down?” Zelda asks, after a moment.

“You have the Paraglider.” Link says. “I’ll take the platforms.”

Zelda nods. Link turns around, heading to the hole and dropping down it. He circles his way down the tower, arriving at the ground as Zelda herself lands.

“Are you ready?” He asks.

“As ready as I can be.” She answers.

Link nods. “Stay close.”

It’s not a far walk, from the central tower. Right up the hill, and then across the plains.

There used to be a flagpole where the hole now is. Just one more thing that Malice has taken.

From this angle, the pit seems particularly menacing. The tendrils of Malice twitch and writhe like living things, clawing at the ground around them and leaving gouges in the earth. The grass burns away, Malice consuming it like a blight.

Link steps closer.

Quick as a flash, a longer tendril emerges from the pit, whipping around towards them. It’s larger and darker than the rest, more physical.

Link is faster.

The blade of the Master Sword carves straight through it, and Malice screeches as it retreats backwards, the severed tendril dissolving as it does. The Master Sword glows a brilliant white, white flecks repelling the evil power.

There is a sound, like a gurgle, but deeper and heavier. It’s like nothing he’s ever heard, and it is _terribly **wrong**_. 

“ **Y͠o̸u.͡** ”

Link looks forwards, at the pit.

The Malice is shifting, slowly, the angles of the tendrils changing. Thicker strands reach up from it, burrowing into the ground, tensing and pulling... upwards. The aura of red intensifies, and then.

A hand grabs the edge. Smaller. Made of flesh.

 _Dripping_ with Malice.

The hand curls, and a _corpse_ pulls itself up. Tall and thin and desiccated, long strands of red hair covering its face. It was nearly naked, only a sash around its waist and several pieces of golden jewelry on its body. It was _wreathed_ in Malice, the evil power surrounding it, spawning from it, and spilling to the ground with acidic hisses.

Link gripped the Master Sword tighter. The hate that simmered in his chest ignited, building to a bonfire. Link bared his teeth. 

“Ganondorf.”

The corpse twitched, like a puppet on strings. The head tilted upwards with the sound of snapping cartilage, revealing a long-decayed face. Sunken, corded muscles, a lipless snarling mouth, an amber jewel set upon a golden headpiece.

But it was the eyes that were most striking. Slitted orange on black, glowing with malice and Malice.

“ **Yo̧u҉.** ” Ganondorf snarls. “ **Y͟͡O̕U͞!̴̕̕** ”

Zelda steps back. Link steps forwards. The corpse jerks in a way that no living thing should, and Link can hear the sounds of bones snapping and muscles tearing.

Ganondorf leaps forwards. A trail of Malice follows his movements, the tendrils lashing out simultaneously.

Link swings the Master Sword, light condensing and spilling outwards in a wide wave, the Sword Beam enhanced far beyond its normal power. It swept forwards, the light scattering the aura of Malice and the condensed tendrils. It cut across Ganondorf’s stomach, leaving a trail of white.

The corpse didn’t care. It kept going, a hand bubbling with more condensing Malice. A shape was beginning to take form, long and thin, and Link shifted, bringing the Master Sword up to guard.

The impact is thunderous, reverberating through his body. He holds strong, but Link takes that into note. The corpse, despite its appearance, is powerful.

Ganondorf’s blade of Malice bubbles where the Master Sword touches it, and Link wastes no time in shifting his position. Time’s flow stretches, and he sweeps inwards, shifting the Master Sword to get inside Ganondorf’s guard. With a movement that is lightning fast even from his own perspective, he buries the Master Sword in Ganondorf’s chest.

Time resumes its normal flow, and Ganondorf roars.

But unlike everything else that Link has ever stabbed in the heart, he doesn’t die. 

Link notices from the corner of his eye a pink glow, and immediately backsteps, pulling the Master Sword free and dodging by the barest of margins a glowing clawed hand. It hits the ground, and Malice explodes like a bomb, sending up dirt and dust and evil.

Link narrows his eyes.

“Analysis.” Fi begins. “Ganondorf’s body contains an extreme amount of Malice. He will not be defeated until it is worn down.”

Link reaches to his side, and taps his Slate. The Hylian Shield materializes in his hand, and he changes his stance.

“Zelda.” He says.

“Yes?” She asks.

“Can you call upon the Goddess’ power?” He asks.

“I-” She pauses, briefly. “I should be able to. It might take time, though.”

“Get to a safer distance.” He doesn’t look back at her. “I’ll make sure his concentration stays on me.”

Zelda is quiet, for a moment. “Stay safe, Link.”

Link nods. He hears Zelda hurry off a moment later, heading away from here.

Anywhere is better than here, at the moment.

Ganondorf’s silhouette finally moves, the dust cloud pulsing away. The wound that Link had dealt was filled with Malice, now, black and pink filling the gap in the corpse’s body. The stomach, too, had a line of black-pink, covering the slice left from the Sword Beam.

There’s another gurgling noise, as the corpse straightens up. It coughs, and globules of Malice drip down its jaw.

It throws its head back, and _howls_.

“ **H͜E͏E̛̕E̕Ŗ̨̧R͘R҉O̸O̕͞͝O͡O̧͡OO̶O̡!͟͝** ”

Malice surges, and Link is moving almost before he even knows what he’s doing. Tendrils lash out, and Link swings the Master Sword to tear them apart. Ganondorf’s hands crash together, and pink-black magic gathers, condensing into a small orb. Ganondorf hurls it a moment later, and Link stills briefly before swinging the Hylian Shield, batting it back at its maker. Ganondorf twists, letting it fly past him, raising both hands. More Malice gathers, and a pair of blades form, this time. 

The orb detonates just as Ganondorf moves forwards. The explosion is loud and strong, and if Link had to judge, he’d say that it was at least five times stronger than a Guardian’s laser. Avoid at all costs.

Ganondorf slashes, both blades coming in at different angles and different times. There’d be no way to block both, but he doesn’t have to.

Link steps forwards, making use of his smaller size to slip under one blade while using the shield to slide the other away. He slashes with the Master Sword, scoring a cut across Ganondorf’s ribs, but he has to move to the side when Ganondorf brings up a knee and tries to hit him with it. He makes full use of his agility to twist around it, shoving with his shield at the same time to try and unbalance Ganondorf.

It sort of works. Ganondorf jumps, twisting in mid air and bringing a blade towards Link. Link himself moves back, choosing to get a more stable position over making a strike.

Ganondorf lands, and Link sees the white line of the wound he’d left behind begin to bubble with Malice. Pink and black crawls across it, sealing the flesh together again.

Ganondorf shifts. Both of his hands come together, and both of the long blades of Malice merge, too. His stance changes, one foot forward and body angled, the Malice reshaping into a very large trident.

Link resumes his own stance, though this time he holds the Hylian Shield a little higher. 

Ganondorf wastes no time, stabbing forwards with the trident. Link shifts to the side, and Ganondorf sweeps, so he ducks underneath it and charges forwards. 

Seeming to realize that he won’t be able to draw the spear back in time to defend himself, Ganondorf just lets go of it, more Malice building in his hands. He lashes out with claws the moment Link gets close enough, but that’s exactly what he’d been waiting for.

Time’s flow lengthens again. Link steps forwards, raising the Master Sword and filling it with power.

He swings, and time resumes. The Master Sword strikes true, and Ganondorf roars again as his arm is severed at the elbow.

Link follows through, giving no time for his enemy to recover. The other arm comes up in a vain attempt to ward him away, and Link severs that one, too. 

Link lashes out with a kick to Ganondorf’s knee, and shatters it. The corpse, bereft of support, falls backwards, still roaring that unearthly sound. Link shifts his grip, and then swings a third time.

Ganondorf’s head falls off the body, hitting the ground and rolling, slightly. Some of the hair went free, having been cut alongside the neck.

For a moment, Link is still.

Then the head’s eyes twitch towards him, and Link is reminded of Maz Koshia’s words. They had sealed Calamity because they _could not kill it_.

Link darts backwards just as Malice bursts from the dismembered corpse. Several tendrils lance out, one to where he had just been standing, cratering the ground with the force of the strike, but the others go to the arms and head. They grab, and then pull back, dragging the body parts back into place. Another tendril goes down to the shattered, backwards knee, and then snaps it back into the normal position, more Malice growing to coat it.

Ganondorf gets back up in a moment, Malice crawling over his arms and up his shoulders, around his neck and across his chest. It was spreading quickly, a black mass with pink lines filling over the corpse.

“ **Not̶ tha̶t̵ ̕eas̸y̛.** ”

The Malice surges, growing rapidly. The corpse is rapidly consumed, and the Malice forms new limbs even as it changes shape. One leg, two, three, then four. The face forms next, a pair of long, sharp tusks forming. A boar, not all that dissimilar to Dark Beast Ganon. Smaller, though.

Link is not impressed. 

White flakes form on his skin, and he changes his own shape. 

“Easier.” Link agrees, and flares his wings. There are clouds in the sky, and the air is charged with power. Zelda is in cover, and while she isn’t far from here, he can sense the Goddess’ power upon her. She’s safe.

Link summons Dinraal’s Blessing, and exhales a wave of scarlet fire.

Ganondorf shrieks, a sound like nails on a chalkboard, but somehow even more irritating. The boar charges, even though it is aflame, but Link isn’t having any of it. He twists and surges upwards, gripping Ganondorf’s horns and shoving them into the ground. The Malice-flesh all but explodes in his face, but Link is much tougher now, and he strikes out with his claws.

Several chunks of Malice fall to the ground, dissipating as they do. The boar spasms, but then unravels underneath him, strands of Malice pouring several directions. An attempt to confuse him, perhaps, but it doesn’t work, because Link can sense the source all too well. 

One strand goes up into the air, shedding more Malice to get the flames off of itself. The rest of its body is already beginning to reform, though it’s less solid now.

“You do not belong in the skies, pig!” Link roars. Farosh’s Blessing responds to his call, and the clouds above light up with electrical power.

The bolt of lightning strikes with all of its fury a moment later. Ganondorf comes crashing back down, smoking and disintegrating, and Link is there to meet him, claws shining white.

He tears the body of Malice apart, reaching in and pulling the corpse out. Link wastes no time in slamming it against the ground, before jumping up in the air and then falling back down upon it. His weight crushes it underneath him, but if cutting off Ganondorf’s head hadn’t stopped him, what would this?

Link leaps into the air again as, once more, Malice surges outwards. It sharpens itself into spikes, aimed outwards in every direction, trying to skewer him, but it’s easily avoided. Link calls for Naydra’s Blessing, and the temperature _plummets_ , ice crawling across the Malice an instant later. 

Link spins, whipping his tail. The malice shatters, dissolving, but the corpse is already beginning to get back up. 

Link flaps his wings, propelling himself towards Ganondorf, and transforms in mid air. 

The corpse looks up, at that moment. It’s covered in Malice, still, filling in the damage he’d dealt when he’d crushed it. That Malice bubbles, and Link summons Daruk’s Protection just in time for the barrier to repel another spike of Malice emerging from Calamity.

Link crashes into the corpse, knocking it back down to the ground. Daruk’s Protection takes most of the force for him, and he lets it drop. Link draws the Master Sword, reverses his grip, and then stabs down.

The blade punctures straight through Ganondorf’s forehead, shattering the amber jewel in the process. 

Link didn’t stop. He grabbed onto the handle with both hands, and then reached for Urbosa’s Fury.

Ganondorf’s eyes were just beginning to turn to him when he unleashed it. Electricity sparked along the Master Sword’s blade as he channeled the power through it, focusing it into the body beneath him.

The corpse jerked, twitching and spasming, as the power ran through it. The skin burned, the Malice writhing, muscles seizing... Link had to hold tight to make sure he wasn’t thrown off.

It took nearly ten seconds for it to stop. Link frowns, and yanked the Master Sword out, stepping backwards. Ethereal Malice swirled around his legs, still leaking from the corpse.

“ **No̶.** ”

The corpse jerks. Malice begins to fill in the head, and it’s pulled into a sitting position.

Link swings the Master Sword, launching a focused Sword Beam that cleaves the torso in two. The body falls over, again.

“ **I wil̡l n̸ot ̡di͝e.** ”

Malice starts to pull the pieces back together, and Link launches another Sword Beam at it. Then two more, for good measure.

“ **I r͡e̛f҉use ̷t͞o͞ ̛di͜e.** ”

Link raises a hand, and snaps his fingers. Lightning lashes out, again, and the body collapses.

“ **I ha̛v͜e̢ ҉co͠me͡ ͝t͢o͏o͟ ͏f̨a̵r.** ”

“Do you think anyone _cares_ about what you want?” Link snarls, and snaps his fingers again. “You are a _curse_. Somebody else’s hatred that keeps coming back to _haunt us_. Have the decency to _stay dead_.”

The corpse’s neck cracks, as it turns in his direction.

“ **Y̸ou onl̷y ͢n͘e͢ed͢ ̨to ͢l̕os̶e̛ onc͠ę.** ”

“You’ve tried so many times, but you’ve never truly succeeded.” Link says. “What makes you think that’s ever going to change?”

The corpse tries to rise, and Link cuts it down once again.

“You’re not going to win.” He declares. “After everything we’ve been through, I _will not_ allow you to take our happiness from us.”

The corpse’s neck snaps, again.

“ **Y҉o̧u ͟arȩ ͘no҉t ̛th͜e̡ o̢n̡l͝y one҉ whose cho͠ic̸e̢ ma͝tte̴r͞s.** ”

Link pauses, briefly. The corpse continues to pull itself together again. By now, it’s more patchworks of Malice than it is actual flesh. “You say we only need to lose once? Funny thing-”

He slashes with the Master Sword, again, as the corpse once again tries to get up.

“We only need to _win_ once, too.” Link says. “If we can ever get rid of that curse? It’s all over.”

The corpse makes a wet, hacking sound, and it honestly takes him a few moments to recognize it as _laughter_.

“ **I̡mpo͢ss̶ib̸le͝.͢** ”

A weight settles on his side, and _both of them_ freeze at the sudden, powerful aura that fills the air.

Ganondorf’s neck snaps again, as Link reaches to his side and takes hold of the new weight.

“Ah.” Link realizes. “Actually...” He smiles. “I think we’ve been building towards that for a while now.”

“ **N͜͢͠͞͝Ǫ̡͘͘͟O̴҉҉̡Ơ̢̨͝O̵̸̴͡͠!̴** ”

Ganondorf screams as Malice bursts from him, liquid and ethereal and _far too late_ to stop this, now.

Link puts on the Fierce Deity Mask.


	39. Chapter 39

None of this makes any sense, Zelda can’t help but think.

Calamity was sealed. She’d done it personally, after Link had weakened it so simply.

So what, then, was this walking corpse in front of them? 

Ganondorf, Link had spoken. Ganondorf, Link had spoken with such utter venom in his voice, a venom she hadn’t even known he was capable of. Uncharacteristic of him, perhaps, but if this was the true face of Calamity...

And the pieces start to fall in place. Calamity had been hatred and rage incarnate, a font of Malice, but Zelda was all too aware that Malice could split and spread and grow. It was a poison that corrupted.

Calamity had never spoken. 

Ganondorf had. One word, repeated three times, but each with a different inflection, each with growing rage and hate.

They’d been wrong.

What they’d thought was the true Calamity had only been yet another shadow. 

Maz Koshia had thought that Ganondorf must have transformed in order to free itself from the underground, but here was proof otherwise.

Calamity had only been a fragment of that Malice. The rest of it had been waiting.

“Get to a safer distance.” Link says. He doesn’t look back at her. “I’ll make sure his concentration stays on me.”

Zelda is quiet, for a moment. There are so many things she could say. There are so many things she wants to say.

But Link is utterly serious, focused so completely upon Ganondorf, that she can’t do any of that.

“Stay safe, Link.”

Link nods. Zelda can’t help but be relieved, even as she turns and runs away.

She doesn’t want to. She wants to stay at Link’s side, and battle this monster and kill it with him.

But she understands her role in this. The Demon and the Hero are about to engage in battle, and while she’s seen combat, while she’s fought monsters and Yiga and contained the Calamity for a hundred years...

She’s not either of them. She’s not the Demon, born and reveling in violence. She’s not the Hero, whose spirit has been tempered from aeons of battle.

This is not something she can help with. The most she can do here is not make herself a target for the Demon, so that the Hero can focus upon the fight. 

What she should be doing is preparing for the end of it.

The power of the Goddess Hylia that lays within her. 

It’s time to draw it out again.

“ **H͜E͏E̛̕E̕Ŗ̨̧R͘R҉O̸O̕͞͝O͡O̧͡OO̶O̡!͟͝** ”

Zelda flinches, but keeps running. The voice is horrible, and Zelda suddenly finds herself grateful that Calamity had never _spoken_. Just raged, endlessly, in their combined prison.

There’s an explosion behind her as Zelda slides down the hill, hiding behind the rocks. She pokes her head out for a moment, spying Link scoring a cut across Calam- _Ganondorf’s_ ribs.

The two of them launch into a furious melee, but Zelda has no time to appreciate the skill of it. 

She closes her eyes, clasps her hands together, and breathes. The Malice-filled air is so familiar it ironically helps her focus, reaching towards that part of herself where the essence of the Goddess rested.

For all her life, she’d prayed in hopes of unleashing that power. Failure had been constant, weighing upon her with unfulfilled expectations and slowly vanishing hopes.

Prayer had not been the key. 

Link’s face flashes through her mind. Link, her guard, her companion, her counterpart, her friend. Link, who’d given his life for her, who she had waited a hundred years to see again. Link, who was fighting right this instant against the ancient evil itself.

The essence shivers, awakening. Warmth and love and the promise of a better life, it shimmers under her skin. 

It’s not much, at the moment, but she can still help with this.

Zelda moves to stand-

There’s a weight on her shoulders, and she freezes.

“ _ **No.**_ ” Says a voice. Ancient and youthful. Powerful and soft. Her voice. Her mother’s voice. Her grandmother’s voice, and on and on and on. “ _ **Not yet.**_ ”

Zelda’s breath catches in her throat. “ _Hylia?_ ”

Laughter rings in her ears. “ _ **It is I.**_ ”

A shiver runs down her spine. The Goddess is _here_.

Another laugh. “ _ **The moment is not now, Zelda.**_ ” Hylia spoke. “ _ **This battle has only just started.**_ ”

“ _I-_ ” Zelda pauses, for a moment. “ _Link-_ ”

“ _ **Look again.**_ ”

Zelda opens her eyes. Her back is to a mound of dirt and rubble, Link is behind that, and still, she _sees_.

Link swings the Master Sword, and Ganondorf’s arm flies off. Another swing, following up, takes the other. With a third, the head comes clean off. His form glows with white power, Malice not daring to touch him. He is furious, and utterly without mercy. Zelda would struggle to call this a battle. It’s so brutally efficient it seems more like a butcher slaughtering cattle.

“ _ **He is well prepared for this.**_ ” Hylia says. “ _ **Ten years and six days have given him more than enough time to practice.**_ ”

Ten years and six days, the Goddess says. Zelda had thought she’d understood what Link had been through. She’d seen him work, after she’d woken up. He’d been so calm, so steady, unafraid of anything that stood in his path. Monsters, Guardians, Calamity itself... None of them had even left so much as a scratch on him. The closest they’d come to inconveniencing him had been when he was searching for Koroks and they happened to make him waste a few seconds dispatching them.

Link had always been strong. A one man army that could face a horde of Monsters and come out with nothing more than a few cuts. When he’d torn Calamity apart, he’d almost seemed _bored_ , that was just how familiar he was with it.

Zelda had seen that, and she’d thought she’d understood. 

Watching Link cut apart Ganondorf, though, was somehow _more_. At least with everything else, she could attribute the efficiency to familiarity and practice, but Ganondorf didn’t have that benefit. At most, Link might know the corpse from previous lives, but all of them would have only fought Ganondorf a few times, at most, before defeating the Demon. 

Zelda was aware of the legends. Many of them spoke of the Heros’ great endeavours in battling the Demon. 

She couldn’t call this familiarity. This utter domination of the battle was _skill_.

Zelda’s mind lingers on Hylia’s words. Ten years and six days. 

“ _You know how long he was looping._ ” Zelda can’t help but note, even as her blood runs cold.

“ _ **I do.**_ ” Hylia says, and to Zelda’s horror, she can _hear_ the regret in the Goddess’ voice.

Zelda wants to hope that is the end of it. That the Goddess only _knows_ , because she’s a Goddess, because of some Deific privilege, and not because of anything else.

“ _We... always wondered, how you didn’t notice._ ” Zelda says.

Zelda wants to hope. But Zelda has hoped her entire life, and she knows better, now.

“ _But the real question we should have been asking wasn’t that, was it?_ ”

Hylia is silent. Painfully, _damningly_ , silent.

Zelda shakes. She is not cold. She is not terrified. She is not sad.

“ _We wondered how the Hex came to target him._ ” Zelda continued. “ _And suddenly, I think I know the answer._ ”

“ _ **I’m sorry.**_ ”

Zelda stops shaking. “ _You’re sorry?_ ” She asks, as calmly as she can. “ _You were the one who put Link through this time loop, not even bothering to give him any help whatsoever, no advice, no guiding, **nothing** , and all you can say is ‘ **You’re sorry** ’?_”

“ _ **It was not a decision made lightly.**_ ”

Zelda takes a moment to breathe. Zelda takes a moment to not _explode in rage_. “ _I’m sure you have a very good reason._ ” She says, airily. “ _After all, to put Link, who has selflessly given everything he ever had to save Hyrule’s people, who gave even his very **life** to save mine, who fought in your name and mine to protect everyone, who is the kindest and greatest person I know, who **certainly** never deserved anything like this, through such a horrible thing... Surely. There **must** be a good reason._”

Hylia’s presence _burns_ with guilt, and all Zelda can think is _good_. 

“ _Tell me._ ” She demands. “ _That there is a good reason._ ”

“ _ **Ganondorf was clever.**_ ” Hylia’s voice is quiet. “ _ **And he could not stay bound forever. That which you call the Hex was designed to ensure that.**_ ”

Zelda breathes in. She looks at Link, for a moment. At some point, he’d transformed into a dragon, and was now raining fire upon Ganondorf, surrounded by inky Malice in the form of a boar. The Demon did not seem to appreciate this. “ _Continue._ ”

“ _ **One hundred years ago, Ganondorf’s seal was intact, for the most part.**_ ” Hylia states. “ _ **Decaying, but Ganondorf could not free himself entirely, yet. The most he could achieve was to leak a small amount of Malice out over time.**_ ”

“ _Calamity._ ” Zelda says.

“ _ **The gathered Malice eventually became it, yes.**_ ” Hylia agreed. “ _ **He did not stop there, however. The Hex was also created. It drew energy from Ganondorf’s seal.**_ ”

“ _And in holding it off long enough to let it decay, we also weakened Ganondorf’s seal._ ” Zelda realizes. “ _And he broke out soon afterwards._ ”

“ _ **Yes.**_ ” Hylia says, softly. 

A distant rumbling noise reached her ears. Zelda’s attention went Link again. Ganondorf crackles with electricity, falling from the sky as a smoking, disintegrating cloud. It should be louder, Zelda realizes. She should be falling over, holding her ears from the thunder. Hylia’s presence protects her from that.

“ _And you didn’t tell anyone._ ” Zelda couldn’t help but note. 

“ _ **I did not realize its existence until later.**_ ” She stated. “ _ **The Demon did manage to hide it from me, at least for a small time. I didn’t learn of it until after you imprisoned it alongside yourself.**_ ”

Zelda frowned. “ _How? Aren’t you the Goddess of Time?_ ”

“ _ **The Hex never came into use, in those days.**_ ” Hylia stated. “ _ **Only a more prolonged examination revealed it to me.**_ ”

“ _The Hex **didn’t** get used?_” Zelda said. That’s honestly surprising to her. “ _So Calamity spent the time to learn, then?_ ”

“ _ **Yes.**_ ” Hylia agrees. “ _ **While it was growing, Calamity encountered Ancient Technology. Its intelligence is debatable, but its cunning is not. It learned how to corrupt it during that period. It merely waited until the two of you were far away, and then launched the attack. It got lucky.**_ ” Hylia’s voice took a darker tone, at those last words. “ _ **But it and Ganondorf were victims of their own success. It was enchained, and I was afforded the opportunity to study it. I learned of the Hex, and I was left with... two poor choices.**_ ”

“ _What other decision was so bad that you chose to trap Link in a temporal loop?_ ” Zelda asked. 

“ _ **I break the Hex.**_ ” Hylia says. “ _ **Nothing happens. Nobody but Ganondorf and myself is ever aware it existed in the first place. Link wakes up, defeats Calamity, and then, a few years after that, Ganondorf’s seal breaks, and we’re right back where we’re started.**_ ”

That... Was actually pretty bad, yes.

“ _ **Or-**_ ” Hylia says. “ _ **I make use of an opportunity. I shift the target of the Hex to Link. Ganondorf doesn’t know, because it’s never been activated, and he doesn’t know what to expect, and if he ever should realize, it’s already too late for him to stop. Link goes back, and is afforded new opportunities that he didn’t have before. He would find a way out, and when he did, he’d be all the more prepared when Ganondorf was freed, inevitably.**_ ” She pauses, briefly. “ _ **I chose that which would give him a greater chance.**_ ”

Zelda breathes in, then out. She has to force herself to stop grinding her teeth. “ _And you couldn’t help him at all?_ ”

“ _ **When a normal person is careless with time, the consequences are great.**_ ” Hylia says. “ _ **If I were to be careless with time, the consequences would be catastrophic. I helped how I could, but a direct intervention in a matter such as that was too much to risk.**_ ”

Silence fell. Zelda heard the crackle of lightning. Link is back in his Hylian form, standing in front of Ganondorf’s corpse. 

“ _But you can intervene, now._ ” Zelda says, after a moment.

“ _ **The Hex is broken.**_ ” Hylia states. “ _ **Time is stable. What I had sought to achieve is coming to fruition. I am afforded more freedom.**_ ” A pause. Zelda senses... _eagerness_. “ _ **And as always, he has exceeded expectations.**_ ”

“ _He won’t be hurt?_ ” Zelda asks, after a moment.

Hylia laughed. “ _ **He will be perfectly fine. Better than us, I’d dare say.**_ ”

Zelda slumps, briefly, before straightening. “ _Alright._ ” She nods. “ _What do I need to do?_ ”

“ _ **Right now, we prepare.**_ ” Hylia says. “ _ **Take a breath.**_ ”

Zelda breathes in, and-

Hylia’s presence _intensifies_. 

Her skin shimmers with gold. The Malice in the air shudders, flicking away.

“ **You were born of me.** ” Hylia says. Her voice doesn’t come from far away, anymore. It’s present, now, ringing in her ears rather than her mind. 

The weight on her shoulders is no longer an intangible presence. Now, it's a pair of hands.

“ **You hold my essence.** ” Hylia speaks. “ **Just as your mother did, and her mother, and her mother before her, and her mother before her, and so on, until it reaches back to me.** ”

There’s a tug, and Zelda rises, almost without thinking. Zelda turns her head, looking over her shoulder, and sees-

The Goddess is a magnificent, beautiful figure. The Goddess is an indecipherable, vague shape. She’s wearing white, and her hair is golden, but other than that...

She has countless faces, countless bodies. The Goddess blurs and shifts as Zelda looks at her. She’s willowy thin. She’s lithely muscled. She has matronly curves. Her hair is long. Her hair is short. She has blue eyes, she has gray eyes, she has gold eyes. She has a pair of brilliant white wings. She’s an entirely normal Hylian in shape. She’s covered in resplendent jewelry. She’s wearing nothing but her dress, because nothing could accentuate her beauty.

Hylia smiles, softly, and Zelda’s eyes pick out a familiar feature. All at once, the shifting settles, the countless overlapping forms retreating to show a single shape to her. Tall. Thin. Braided, golden hair. Blue eyes. No wings. No jewelry. A simple white dress, radiant on her form.

A face that looks like her mother’s.

She’s partially transparent. Zelda can see the rock and dirt on the other side of her, but she can’t stop herself from reaching out.

Her fingers touch Light. The power in her soul _sings_ , and Zelda feels-

_Happiness. This daughter has blossomed so beautifully._

Pride. Look how far she’s come.

Anticipation. Everything she’d worked for, now coming to a head.

Hylia reaches up, and grasps her hand.

_Regret. For how it had come to this._

Shame. There is so much she hadn’t been able to do.

Remorse. She’d put them through so much.

Zelda closes her eyes.

_Determination._

This would be the end of it.

Zelda breathes out. The Goddess smiles. She can feel it. She knows it’s there. Hylia’s emotions mesh with her own, and this.

 _This_.

She had no words to describe this.

“ **We are ready.** ” Hylia says. Zelda already knows.

Another presence _slams_ into them, but they don’t stumble. Hylia’s smile widens into a grin, and Zelda understands.

She turns her head and Looks.

The mask.

The _Mask_.

Link stands in front of The Enemy -because that’s what Hylia thinks of it, with aeons of her consideration affecting Zelda’s own-, reaching to his side. He takes the Mask in his hands. The Enemy roars, but too late.

Link puts on the Fierce Deity Mask.

Zelda sees the God inside. He is smiling. 

Link is smiling. 

The bond between the two of them make the one between her and Hylia look positively anemic. She and the Goddess are merging to the point that their thoughts and emotions are bleeding across, but the Fierce Deity and Link slot together like puzzle pieces. They’re two parts of a much greater whole.

White light bursts from them, so sudden and so powerful that The Enemy’s reaching corpse is launched away. The Malice in the air shrieks, retreating as the power spills out.

The figure that emerges from it truly deserves the title of _Fierce Deity_. He’s tall enough to tower over even the Gerudo, with a wide, powerful frame. White hair and white eyes, the exact same colour as Link’s magic, Zelda can’t help but note. Red and blue markings on his face, sharp and stark against the skin. 

His head turns, and Zelda gets the impression that he’s looking right at them. Hylia smiles, and then the Fierce Deity turns back to The Enemy.

The corpse is getting back up, as they look. Zelda sees the rage on its face, the blackness of the soul. The Malice swirling within is bubbling angrily.

The Enemy throws his head back, and _roars_. Words are beyond it, now.

Malice bursts from the corpse, and the air darkens with pink-black flecks. The moon above turns red as The Enemy brings forth his full strength, summoning forth all the Malice it could muster.

Tendrils of Malice twist and spawn. Shrieking spirits roar as The Enemy’s power forces them back into flesh. Monsters take shape, and are then almost immediately swallowed by twisted Malice.

Link, the Fierce Deity, whatever the two of them together could be called, doesn’t seem bothered.

He raises a hand. The Master Sword seems like a far smaller blade than it actually is with his new height. Zelda sees his hand clench, and then the Master Sword _burns_ with a massive white conflagration of power, looking more like he’s holding a firestorm in his hand.

He swings, and it’s almost a casual thing.

In an instant, the entire field is ablaze with a white inferno, monsters disintegrating and Malice _screaming_ as it’s burned away. The pink in the air turns white, and he steps forwards, unhurried, through a field of flame towards a being that if it had been anything other than The Enemy, Zelda might have felt pity for.

“ **Come.** ” Hylia beckons, holding out a hand. “ **He can handle that. Much as I would enjoy watching it, we have our own parts to play.** ”

Zelda shakes her head, and takes the hand.

A moment later, they vanish in a flash of golden light.


	40. Chapter 40

The Mask touches his face, and to Link, it feels like picking up the Master Sword. It’s not the simple act it sounds like. It’s closer to reclaiming a part of his soul.

And, well. 

It is.

The Fierce Deity reaches out to him, and Link reaches right back. They’re both smiling, as they meet somewhere in the middle, and-

_A warrior. A soldier. A rancher. A farmhand. A smith. A carpenter. A musician. A poet. Countless other things, countless other lives._

They are Link. They are the Fierce Deity. They are the culmination of aeons of effort.

\- they are **whole**.

White _bursts_ from them, their vessel shifting and changing to better handle their power. They grow, armour materializing over their form, as they prepare for battle.

The bursting power recedes, and they breathe in, then out.

There is a pair of gazes upon them. They turn their head to face the source, and they see...

 _Zelda_ , Link thinks. **Hylia** , the Fierce Deity knows. 

Zelda seems stunned, but she’s fine, aside from that. Hylia smiles at them, and they turn away.

They have _purpose_.

Ganondorf starts to rise as they look upon it. It’s an evil thing. Link hates it. The Fierce Deity is calm. They know what to do.

The corpse-puppet rears back and _roars_. It’s so filled with rage that it has gone beyond words, now. Malice boils upwards as Ganondorf summons forth all the power he can muster. 

It spills out, twisting tendrils of Malice reaching from Ganondorf and into the world around him. Pink-black spills over the ground, choking the grass and soil. The moon bleeds red, and the air fills with twisted flecks. The spirits of monsters, long slain, are brought back into flesh, only to then be consumed by the spreading Malice.

They raise a hand, clenching the Master Sword.

“ _Master._ ” Fi whispers in their mind. “ _I am ready._ ”

They let their power flow. The Master Sword ignites, burning white with the Deity’s Flame.

They swing.

The fire leaps out, spreading in every direction. The entire field goes up in flames, and the Malice screams as it burns away, unable to withstand their power.

The monsters die. The tendrils of Malice burn away. The corrupting spill is consumed in their own white blaze. The pink-filled air shivers white. The red is banished from the moon.

They had no intent of allowing Ganondorf a foothold in this world. They would allow him nothing.

They step forwards. Hylia’s gaze vanishes alongside her presence.

The Malice flees back to the safety of its source, condensing in upon itself as it tries to withstand his power. Pink-black swirls together, covering Ganondorf in it, shrouding him and solidifying into armour. It’s about the best decision that Ganondorf could have made. That much Malice is enough to shield against this.

They raise the Master Sword, and the blazing field calms into smaller embers. The ground is still covered in hallowed fire, but only to stop any creeping Malice. 

The inferno surrounding the Master Sword also begins to shrink, but not because it is weakening. No, the inferno has begun to seep into the blade itself, as it absorbs the power. They can feel it lengthening in their hand, as Fi uses the power to adjust the weapon into something more appropriate for its current wielder. Larger, longer, stronger, more resilient. There is still a powerful white aura surrounding it, but it’s far more focused than before.

Ganondorf twitches, body jerking. He takes a step forward, and holds both arms out to his side. From his hands, two pieces of Malice began to extend, forming into relatively short, wickedly curved blades.

They flick the Master Sword, and the Sword Beam pierces right through where Ganondorf had been only a moment beforehand. 

Ganondorf is faster like that, they note. All that Malice, all that power, in such a body.

The Master Sword leaves a sweeping lingering trail of light in the air as they swing it, cleaving towards Ganondorf. Ganondorf raises both blades, their intense glow shining with the Malice they’re made of.

The force of the impact could only be described as apocalyptic. The world _shook_ , trembling from the power.

It was a testament to the sheer amount of Malice that made up the blades that they didn’t shatter outright. White, glowing cracks spread across them as the Malice bubbled and burned from simple contact with the Master Sword. If it kept up long enough, they’d break easily, but Ganondorf was also aware of that, and so pulled back to swipe again.

They met the attempt, grabbing the handle of the Master Sword with both hands. 

One might think that using a longsword against a pair of shortswords would leave them with a disadvantage when it came to speed. If they weren’t what they were, one might even be right.

Thunderous clangs resounded one after the other as the blade of the Master Sword met the twin blades of Malice again and again and again. Ganondorf’s furious flurry of blows was met with their own skill, each one deflected and repulsed. The earth quaked under the violence of their attacks, earth and rock sent flying in every direction just from the power of the attacks.

Ganondorf leaps into the air as they unleash a sweeping strike. The Sword Beam carves a gouge in the earth, and Ganondorf twists in mid air to bring the twin swords down upon them.

A futile effort. They complete their sweeping turn, bringing the Master Sword up, and Ganondorf is forced to impose the twin swords in its path. It’s a successful block, but one that, with his lack of steady ground, sends him flying back.

He lands, sliding back before straightening up. With a muted snarl, Ganondorf slams both of the swords together. By now, they’re covered in a lattice of glowing white.

The swords twist and merge, forming into a single, larger shape. A blade just as long as the transformed Master Sword, but significantly wider, with edges that curve and spike sharply and menacingly.

They swing the Master Sword again, but this time, Ganondorf chooses to go _through_ the Sword Beam, raising his own weapon in front of him. Pink gathers, and a blood-red barrier appears just in front of Ganondorf. It shatters, but it takes the portion of the Beam meant for Ganondorf.

Ganondorf comes in with an overhead strike, blatantly obvious but no less dangerous for it. They swing the Master Sword to meet it, and the ground craters under their feet. White cracks spread across the blade of Malice, but Ganondorf is already moving, stepping back and pulling the sword with him. 

They follow through, stepping forwards and aiming to skewer. Ganondorf manages to shift to the side enough to avoid it, and brings down his sword on them again.

They flick it to the side, meeting the blade of Malice with the guard of the Master Sword. The blade catches on it, the spiking edge stopping it from sliding.

Ganondorf steps forward, one hand coming off the blade’s handle. More Malice crawls upwards, a dagger beginning to take shape. They twist the Master Sword, taking advantage of the loosened grip, and angle the blade between them.

Ganondorf abandons the dagger, and pulls back again. His armour pulses with pink-red, crawling waves that run up through it into the tip of his sword. His stance changes, moving as if to thrust the blade.

They move to mirror the stance, and then, just as Ganondorf thrusts forwards-

Time halts, for a brief moment. They step diagonally forwards, and time resumes.

A lance of pink-black shoots past them, shining dangerously. Ganondorf’s head snaps to their new position, but it’s far too late.

The Master Sword cleaves him in half, splitting him at the waist. The sword of malice falls to the ground, and shivers as the flames lick it.

There is, for a moment, a quiet that is broken only by the crackling of the fire.

“ **N̴o.͠** ” Ganondorf speaks. Malice spills out of the cuts, upper and lower body seeking each other. The fire burns at it, burns at the armour, burns at Ganondorf, but that’s just slowing the inevitable.

“ **N͠ot ̕l͝i̷ke t͠his.** ” Ganondorf growls. The tendrils find each other, latching on. They start to drag, pulling both halves together again.

“ **Į ̡do͡ ͢not ̷k͜n̡ow̕ ͝where you ̧found̢ wh͝a҉tever ̕t͜hi̶s̶ i̕s͡.̧** ” Ganondorf states. “ **Bu͢t i҉t ̷does͏ n͜ot matter͠.** ”

“ **Oh, would you just shut up, already?** ” Another voice asks. 

They turn their head, again. Zelda and Hylia appear in a flash of light. The former is wearing a happy smile, Link can see. The latter seems satisfied, the Fierce Deity notes. That means the time has come.

“ **H͟҉y̡ļ̕͢͡i̶̵̡̢͜a̴̕͢.̡͜** ” Ganondorf growls, with such overwhelming rage that his voice is almost entirely lost within it. Nearly incomprehensible, even to the Deities. 

“ **It’s over.** ” Hylia says. “ **You’ve lost.** ”

“ **I͟t's neve͏r ̨ove̸r.** ” Ganondorf disagrees. His halves meet, and the armour sizzles for a moment, before he begins to stand. “ **I̛ ̛w̶i̕ll ͠alway͢s come̶ ͝b̸a̡c̛ķ.** ”

Ganondorf steps forward, and they immediately cut him down again. Hylia nods her thanks at them.

“ **No.** ” Hylia denies. “ **I have had more than enough to think about this.** ” She looks upwards.

There is a distant rumbling. Four familiar roars. One trumpeting. One screeching. One echoing. One grumbling.

Ganondorf scoffs. “ **S̢heik̛ah ̡T͘i̛tan͝s? ̴T̡hey ̡ca̕n͏n͟o͜t ki̕l̸l͢ me̴.** ”

Red beams cut the sky into quarters, crossing above them.

Hylia looks back down at him. “ **They’re not intended for you, this time.** ”

The beams vanish. There is a brief moment, the calm before the storm. 

Night turns to day, and the sky lights up blue. The four beams of the Divine Beasts met each other in the air, and merged together into one, singular orb.

They raise the Master Sword to the sky.

The orb falls, and it meets the tip of the blade. Blue shines as it sinks in, all that energy flowing inside. The white fire intensifies around it, and-

The Master Sword _changes_. The blade splits and twists upon itself, one side going over the other. The guard straightens as the handle lengthens, one blade green and the other blue. It still shines with intense light, the glow banishing any hint of shadows.

“ **We have always fought you.** ” Hylia says, slowly. “ **Again, and again, and again. You have come back, over and over, in different forms and different shapes, with different memories and different origins, with different goals, only to always end up seeking the same thing. This puppet is no different. Repetitive, because Demise never was that creative. There’s been more Ganondorfs and Ganons than I care to count. This one lasted longer than most.** ”

“ **I am͜ no pu͟pp̴ęt̶.** ”

“ **You do not know what you are, corpse.** ” Hylia says. “ **Very few of the vessels ever did. They were always immature. Easier, that way. But it doesn’t matter. You revealed too much, last time. You hung onto this corpse too tightly, and now you are the victim of your own plot. Ten thousand years, you were locked away, and while you were trying to get free, what do you think I was doing?** ”

Ganondorf growls, again. “ **A f̧anci͘er ̧şwo̢r̴d̷ do̴esn̕'̶t ͘change̶-̶** ”

It pierces Ganondorf’s chest.

There’s a moment of brief silence, and then-

Malice _explodes_ away from Ganondorf, the armour instantly burning away from the corpse. A howling screech echoes through the world, unearthly and terrible, the scream of a Demon.

“ **You have haunted us for too long.** ” Hylia says as she and Zelda step forwards. “ **A curse that exists for no other reason than to cause suffering. So many forms, so much evil, all of it utterly pointless.** ”

Zelda reaches up, and lays her hand upon their own. Hylia reaches, and lays her hand over Zelda’s. A golden light joins the blue and the white.

Ganondorf’s skin peels away, muscles and bones disintegrating. The corpse-puppet burns from existence.

Underneath it is a black void. A hatred so old and so dark that it seems to be a hole in reality, consuming everything it touches.

“ **Congratulations are in order, I suppose.** ” Hylia said. “ **All your efforts did eventually lead to one thing. Be proud, curse.** ”

The blackness began to shimmer, the light pushing in. 

“ **You helped shape that which would kill you forever. You gave me the tools to do it.** ” She says. “ **The end of Evil.** ”

They push.

The Master Sword sinks in. The blackness cracks, the white and the blue and the gold spreading.

They raise the Master Sword into the air.

The shrieking intensifies. Perhaps, the final gasp of a curse that had lasted since the earliest ages of the world. 

But it did not matter. 

The blackness shatters.

A pillar of light splits the sky.


	41. Chapter 41

The light is blinding. Powerful. It casts the land into colours of white, blue and gold.

The black void is unmade, before it. The fragmented pieces disintegrate and die, until nothing remains of them. 

They feel...

Satisfaction. 

A job well done.

The light begins to fade, the pillar dimming. It takes several seconds for it to fade completely, for the night to return to being _night_.

They flick the transformed Master Sword, and the field of flames die out completely.

The Fierce Deity laughs. They reach up to their face, and then-

He is only Link, now. The Fierce Deity Mask is warm in his hands, the Fierce Deity itself content.

And that’s entirely fair, Link thinks, considering what they had just done.

A hand touches his face, and he looks up. Zelda looks at him, the golden glow surrounding her fading away.

Zelda is back to being not-short. Which is good, because Zelda had been taller than him until nearly her seventeenth birthday, and such a massive difference would have been unnerving if he’d had the capacity to be unnerved while wearing the Mask.

She seems concerned, he notes. She’s not looking at his eyes. Her eyes are flicking between his cheeks and forehead. Her hand shifts, and her thumb runs just underneath an eye.

“You have the marks.” She says, carefully.

“The Fierce Deity’s marks?” He asks, just to confirm.

Zelda nods.

Link pauses to consider that.

Honestly, it doesn’t surprise him.

“How are you feeling?” She asks.

Link breathes in. The air is _filled_ with Divinity. Not a blessing, really. So much power had been unleashed here that the area was sacred, now. 

“I feel better now than I have in a while, honestly.” Link says. Not just physically, either, though that is a large part of it. His mind feels _clear_. Emotionally, he isn’t as drained as he felt before. Spiritually...

Spiritually, it’s as if he’s _more_ , now. Like he’s regained a limb he’d never known he’d even lost. He can feel the Fierce Deity, somewhere in the core of his being, like a blanket that hangs around his soul. Strange, considering the source, but comforting regardless. 

And it’s probably why he has the marks.

“I know the feeling, I think.” Zelda smiles at him. There’s a glint in her eyes, an inner light that makes him smile back at her. 

“I’m glad you’re alright.” He says. 

Her smile widens, and her fingers briefly caress his cheek before she lets go. He finds himself immediately missing it, but it’s fine.

Link looks to his side.

The Master Sword is still in his hands. The weapon has changed appearance, again. The double helix design has shifted back into a single longsword blade, though the blade itself has changed colours, one side green and the other side light blue.

“The previous shape was not an efficient one for your usage, Master Link.” Fi chimes, materializing. The sword spirit herself hasn’t changed much, but her cloak has gained two new colours at the tips. The purple one fades to teal, while the blue one fades to green. “I have corrected this.”

“Heh.” Link can’t help but give a huff of laughter. “Good to see you doing well, Fi.”

Link sheathes the Master Sword. It seems, if anything, lighter than ever, despite the palpable aura of power that now radiated from it.

Link turns his head.

Passeri Greenbelt... 

Well, it probably couldn’t be called Passeri _Green_ belt, anymore. What was once a rolling field and hills now more closely resembles a desolate wasteland, torn apart by a war. The ground is cracked and torn and lifeless, with gouges and craters carved from it, not even mentioning the massive, deep hole that vanished into the depths of the earth when Ganondorf had simply blasted his way out. A brief conflict between a Demon and a Deity, and the verdant terrain had been rearranged almost completely.

Life would recover, eventually, but nobody would recognize this place for what it had been not even an hour ago.

“People are going to be worried.” Zelda murmurs. He looks back to her, and when she notices, she tilts her head back. “Nothing that happened tonight was subtle.”

No. No it was not.

The night started with a beam of Malice shooting into the sky. Not too long afterwards, there had been a sudden, out-of-sync Blood Moon, only for that moon to be equally suddenly banished back. Then there had been the battle, literally earthshaking, followed by the Divine Beasts firing their beams, again, then a final pillar of light that had to have been visible from every corner of Hyrule.

All of which happened only six days after the Divine Beasts fired the first time, and then the golden sun of Zelda’s power banishing Calamity.

And the only people other than them who were even remotely aware of what happened with just _that_ were four Sheikah researchers and an Ancient Sheikah Monk.

At some point, and soon, at that, Link was going to have to actually talk to people again.

But, until then...

Link’s gaze finally settled on the final person present.

The Goddess was only slightly transparent, to him. She was a magnificent, shifting form, with countless faces overlapping each other. So many of them, some part of his spirit could recognize. _Zelda_ , his past lives whispered, each with their own voice, their own inflections. 

_Hylia_ , whispers his first life. **Hylia** , he and the Fierce Deity had recognized. And so, that is the face that comes forwards.

Tall. Thin. Deep blue eyes. Long, golden hair. Bands and ties around two strands of it. A line of beads and jewelry, woven into her hair. Soft and deceptively delicate features.

She stands unmoving, posture steady and straight. Her divine white dress blows in the breeze. She seems relaxed, calm, but it’s plain to see, for him at least, the guilt in her eyes. Regret, shame, and remorse hang around her like dark thunderstorms, for all that her presence brightens the world. It doesn’t suit her.

Zelda takes a half step, moving slightly in front of him. She is not happy.

“The curse.” He says, and Hylia can’t stop the flinch. He feels a hand take his own, and he squeezes in reassurance when Zelda does the same. “It’s gone.”

Hylia nods, after a moment. Her eyes don’t leave Link’s form. She gives him her full attention. “ **Forever.** ” The Goddess agrees, her voice low.

“What changed?” Link asked. “Why was this time different to all the other times, aside from the obvious?”

“ **The curse...** ” Hylia paused, briefly, as she considered how to explain it. “ **The curse became too invested.** ” She states. “ **The Ganondorf you saw was the last, and the strongest, in a line of hosts for the curse. Ganondorf became aware of the advancements the Ancients were making, and through him, the curse saw that we were becoming more capable of defeating it. It became... desperate, if you will. It knew that all future hosts would be even less prepared, and so it focused on Ganondorf in particular. It infused deeply into Ganondorf, and that which you call Malice was formed as a result. Malice is a manifestation of the hatred that forms the curse.** ” Hylia pauses, briefly. “ **That Malice was enough to prevent the death of the host, Ganondorf.** ”

“It could not be killed.” Link echoes. “And so it was sealed, instead.”

Hylia nods. “ **It was a new development, but in creating Malice, so too did the curse also create a vulnerability. Malice is a manifestation of hatred, and of the curse. It can grow and strengthen, but so too can it decay and weaken.** ” Her hands clasped together. “ **An end... was in sight.** ”

Link nods. “And you used it.”

Hylia’s eyes close. The words may as well have been a knife in her ribs. She breathes in, and it’s a shaky, unsteady breath. “ **And I used it.** ” The Goddess whispered. 

Link nods, slowly.

A thought occurs to him. The Fierce Deity nods, and he steps forwards. The hand that Zelda isn’t holding glows white as he reaches out, the Fierce Deity’s hand guiding his own. Link touches the Goddess’ shoulder-

_Hylia sees The Enemy’s plan. A coiling spell, decaying, intended to bridge present and past. A failsafe, but now that she knows it’s there, one easily broken._

_Hylia goes to break it, but hesitates._

_The curse is vulnerable in a way that it’s never been before, and might never be again. Every tool, even one born from The Enemy, is one that must be carefully considered._

_Hylia looks, into and through time. Her relationship with it is not the same as any other, and she enjoys both privileges and limitations that no others do._

_Futures branch before her._

_Hylia breaks the spell. Hylia sees Link and Zelda. It is the fourth day after Calamity has been defeated. He has promised to accompany her every step of the way, and so he does. Zelda spends a few days to recover her strength, but waits no longer than absolutely necessary. The two of them travel around Hyrule, going to each species’ capital, and confirm the good news._

_Calamity is banished._

_Zora’s Domain cheers. Dorephan gives his deep and personal thanks, for finally avenging Mipha._

_Goron City rumbles. Bludo declares a celebration, and Yunobu stands tall, proud of Daruk._

_Rito Village sings. Kaneli leads the choir, as Kass leads the musicians, while Teba soars with the warriors in Ravali’s honor._

_Gerudo Town revels. Riju laughs long and loud, now that Urbosa has finally finished what had been started a hundred years ago._

_Life settles down. Link and Zelda wander from one corner of Hyrule to the other. Freedom and company are the sweetest things they’ve known._

_Zelda is curious, however, and that curiosity leads them to seek more information on Calamity. It is no coincidence, in her mind, that Calamity rose from underneath the castle, and so they search, until eventually, they find a way down._

_They prepare an expedition, under the surface, into dark caverns that hadn’t seen the light of day for ten thousand years._

_But, then..._

_They find Ganondorf’s corpse. Still in its seal, but that seal is breaking, and Malice is leaking more and more and more._

_One event leads to another. The corpse is freed._

_And they would have been **woefully** unprepared. The corpse puppet quickly gets out of hand. There are futures and roads that lead to victory, but some of them..._

_Most of them don’t lead to a true victory. They lead to a dead corpse, as the curse realizes its mistake, and the Malice dies, the source untouchable yet again. They lead to another seal, where the problem is set down for the future yet again. They lead to devastation, of an already devastated and recovering land, yet again._

_Hylia continues looking._

_Hylia sees another path. Hylia does not break the spell. She doesn’t do anything about it. Calamity is sealed and banished, and then it goes back. Greater devastation, when Link ultimately fights it again. Its meddling with time frees her from restraints, and she gains an opportunity to attack._

_But her power alone isn’t enough. She could only ever seal Demise, after all. This curse might only be the remains of the Demon, but its consequences remain._

_Hylia needs more than that, but to bring that into play requires... so much. None of it is anything that she wants to do._

_Hylia continues looking._

_Hylia does not break the spell. Hylia does, however, give it a little nudge. She settles it into Link, instead._

_Link wakes up. Journeys across the world. Defeats Calamity._

_Link wakes up._

_Again. And again. And again._

_He suffers, for it. He almost breaks, for it. The terrible, awful things, she puts him through, all in the name of securing this chance they’ve been given._

_And those are her choices._

_She doesn’t take the opportunity, and the battles continue potentially forever._

_Or, she torments her own Hero, just so it can end._

_Hylia hates the situation. Hylia hates Demise, because the Demon didn’t have the decency to lay down and die. Hylia hates her weakness, for not being able to break it._

_But Hylia is very old and very tired, and she knows very well that ultimately, it cannot be allowed to go on forever._

_It had to end._

_So Hylia makes the choice, and whispers one extra sentence to the Hero of ten thousand years before this Link will rise._

_Hylia hates herself, most of all._

Link lets go, and Hylia _sobs_ as she collapses to her hands and knees.

Zelda draws back with a gasp, letting go of his hand as she covers her mouth. Link himself stands still, looking down at the Goddess hunched over on the ground in front of him.

“ **I was _weak_!**” The Goddess hisses, hands balling and leaving marks in the ground, even as drops of tears land in front of them. “ **I should have _kept looking_! I should have kept searching! I should have found another way! I shouldn’t have done that! I should have gotten on my hands and knees and _begged_ for help, but _what_ did I do?!**”

Link steps forwards.

“ ** _I went for the easy way out!_** ” Hylia looks up. Her eyes are red, tears trailing down her face.

Link kneels down in front of her, and then pulls her head into his chest, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

The Goddess freezes, for a few moments.

“ **Why-** ” Her voice breaks. “ **Why are you _hugging_ me?**”

“Because you need it.” Link says, simply.

“ **I put you through _hell_.**” Hylia whispers, disbelieving. “ **And you try to _comfort_ me?**”

“This isn’t forgiveness.” Link says. “But that doesn’t mean this isn’t the right thing to do.”

Hylia sucks in a wheezing breath, but that’s all she can do before she cries out, all but collapsing against him. Her arms wrap around his chest, and she squeezes tightly as he starts to rub soothing circles on her back.

Because he understands, really, right here and right now where all of his lives still ring in his mind. Hylia’s actions. The curse that had existed for so long, which she’d fought again and again and again. An opportunity, to put a final end to it, lest it go on forever?

Link knows himself well enough to say that if he’d been given that question, to balance ten not-happening years of his life against all of eternity, he’d have made the same decision.

Did that excuse Hylia? 

No. 

It hadn’t been a question he’d been given. It had been a role put onto him. 

He hears footsteps, and turns his head slightly.

Zelda looks at him, a complicated expression on her face. Sadness, joy, respect, amazement, a host of other little things. She opens her mouth, closes it, then opens it again. “I don’t-” She pauses, sighing. “I don’t know how you can be such a selfless person, Link.”

He shrugs, slightly. It’s just who he is.

Link shifts back, moving to sit down. Hylia follows forwards, leaning against his chest. His head tips down, and Zelda follows the gesture, sitting next to them. She reaches out, and Link shifts an arm so that he can hug her while she hugs the both of them. 

Hylia lets out a sound that’s almost a whimper, like she can’t believe that, knowing what they do, they’re still showing her this kindness. Hylia expected them to hate her. Hylia had been prepared for them to hate her. 

It would have only been right. Nobody would have begrudged them, least of all Hylia herself.

But that isn’t who Link is. 

And now, here she is, breaking into a billion little pieces in the face of it.

“It’s over.” He says. “No more curse.”

“ **There will be more evil.** ” Hylia murmurs. “ **There always is.** ”

“Probably.” Link agrees. “But they won’t be _The_ Evil.” He stresses. “The curse is gone. They will all be smaller evils. Lesser things. Things that won’t leave us with horrible choices like that.”

Link looks up at the sky. The moon is bright and full. 

“We’re still here.” Link says. “After everything we’ve been through, we’re still here. We’ll still be here tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after. It hurt.”

And it had hurt. 

It had hurt Link, with the many times he’d done the same things, over and over and over again. It had hurt when they had continued without sign of ending, when he had become increasingly self-destructive in an attempt to escape something he hadn’t understood, when he hadn’t asked for help because he’d thought he could handle it alone, because he thought that other people didn’t need to be burdened with his problems. It hurt when his isolating himself from them hurt them anyway, because that’s what he’d been trying to avoid.

It had hurt Zelda, with the hundred years she’d been locked away alongside a Demon. It had hurt when she’d seen Link, and the way that he’d been trapped, the way he’d been shaped by the repetition, joy robbed from him. To see and hear how many things he’d gone through, and to know that she couldn’t remember any of it, that she had only notes left from her previous selves, only hints of joys, only a list of things they’d done, so she could do things they hadn’t. It hurt to see him suffer, and only be able to do such a small amount to help.

It had hurt Hylia, too. Battle after battle after battle with the same force, unable to win that final battle, forced to use the Hero and the Princess, again and again and again. It hurt when the prospect of true victory was dangled in front of her face, and she’d been too weak to not take it, even though it would mean even more suffering for the one who kept giving and giving, despite the fact that there truly had been no good options.

“We overcame it, though.” He continued. “And there were good things, along the way.”

Fi. A hundred fun little things, with Zelda. Purah and Robbie and Symin and Jerrin, with their excitement to meet a living Ancient. Maz Koshia’s satisfaction, with work and with students. The Guardians, reclaimed. The festivals, the discussions, the magic, the fun they’d had, all of the people that Link had gotten to know, gotten to help, all the things he’d learned.

“We won.” They had won. No curse to come back, and drag them unerringly downwards, again and again and again.

“The future is ours, now.” Zelda says, blinking.

Link smiled.

“But that’s the future.” He says. “Right now, we can just take a moment to relax.”

Zelda snorts, but she’s smiling. Hylia’s sobbing begins to abate.

“Everything else can come later.” He says.

For now, they can take a moment for themselves.


	42. Epilogue

So where do they go, from there?

Well, there’s a few things to do. Some of it, obligations to other people, some of it, their own desires. Some things major and some things minor.

But, to start...

It takes several hours for Hylia to pull herself back together. The Goddess is old and tired, and she had long expected to be faced with hatred, entirely deserved, in her mind. To have been met with kindness, instead... was almost too much to bear.

Link, Zelda, and Hylia would have a long conversation, afterwards. Zelda is still not happy with what the Goddess had done to Link, but her anger is blunted, unwillingly, by his own understanding. Link’s understanding, however, does not immediately lead to his forgiveness of Hylia’s actions.

Hylia is honestly grateful for that. She doesn’t _want_ such forgiveness, for having tormented her Hero, for having taken what she considers the easy way out. Her actions may have led to the end of the curse that had plagued the world since times that only she had witnessed, but she betrayed herself and her Hero to do it.

She does not want to be that person. This had been too much already, and to do it again would make her unworthy of the kindness Link had shown, and she would rather die than become that.

Hylia makes a promise, then. 

Never again.

It’s the first step on a long road, but it’s an important one.

However, Hylia cannot, and should not, stay in the mortal world forever. She is a Deity, and an important, old one at that. Her status and power lends her great capability, and equal responsibility. She offers blessings, before she leaves, since it is the least she could do after all she’s done.

Link declines, having no real need or desire. Zelda does have a request, however. She wants her memories of what happened during the loops. Link is... not _surprised_ , really. It had long weighed on her that only Link (And Hylia, now) had remembered what happened in those times. 

It is within Hylia’s power, and so she agrees. Zelda stands, stunned, as all those memories run through her mind. She turns and clutches Link close the moment she comprehends it all, now knowing and now being able to appreciate, fully, what he’d been through.

Hylia bids them farewell. Link tells her to visit, because he knows better than most what isolation can do to a person, and nobody, not even the Goddess herself, was immune to it. Nobody deserved that. Hylia shakes her head, amazed and confused in equal measure, but Link has always exceeded expectations.

There’s only a few things left for them, there. Fi summons a few Guardians, and has them patrol around the hole left by Ganondorf. It’s a rather dangerous thing, after all. 

Zelda, finally, shows Link what her father had left to her. A simple note, by all means, but one that echoed with all the things they’d never been able to say. A message of love and encouragement.

Link and Zelda go back to the Plateau, where they would find the scientists sitting and waiting. They have not, of course, missed the light show, even if Maz Koshia had wisely told them to stay away from that. There would be an explanation there, of course.

Then they’d go to Kakariko, and meet with Impa, and Link would finally, _finally_ start to explain everything that had happened. Ten long, long, _long_ years where so few had learned, and finally, he’d never have to tell her again.

Of course, they’d travel around Hyrule, after that. They would visit Zora’s Domain, and Goron City, and Rito Village, and Gerudo Town. News would be passed, stories told...

And it wouldn’t stop there, of course. There were plenty of things to do.

But did the specifics really matter? 

Sure, some things had changed. The Fierce Deity’s marks hadn’t, and wouldn’t, fade from Link’s face. Hylia’s light, burning in Zelda’s soul, would only strengthen, rather than weaken. There was an aura around both of them, now, for any that had the senses to be aware of it. They both knew much more than they probably should have, and they were both so close, though that would surprise nobody who actually knew them. 

And, yes, it would take Link weeks to stop suddenly waking up just before midnight, no matter how much or how little he’d slept, just as it would take Zelda months before she stopped having nightmares when Link wasn’t present. By then, they would have an entirely different reason to continue their arrangement.

But in the end, it didn’t matter how many things changed. There was a whole world out in front of them. There was a future, theirs to decide at last. 

And no matter how things went, no matter what they’d face...

They would do it together.

Isn’t that enough?


End file.
